Ancient Arcane Curse
by Blidnga
Summary: With his memories gone, a recently deceased human finds himself in Gensokyo. His existence is corrupted by the shadow of a god who desires to use him for his twisted purposes, and he must now travel across this bizarre world in search of a cure for his curse...before he loses his mind. /A darker story. Enjoy.
1. Awakening

Disclaimer: Touhou belongs to ZUN. I do not own anything.

I have never stolen from anyone else here or anywhere else on the internet. Any similarities are purely coincidence. I aplogize for any similarities

I apologize if this work offends anyone at any point. No harm is intended by this writing.

Enjoy.

* * *

Darkness…

Only Darkness… no feelings, no sound, and no movement…

_Movement? Can I move? _My thoughts resonate.

I try… fingers, hands, arms, body and legs. Everything is there. With some effort I pull myself off the ground. For some reason, moving feels so difficult to me. My entire body is sore and my eyes are impossibly heavy.

_My eyes?_

I force my eyes open, but there is only black. I blink a few times but there is no difference between open and closed.

My thoughts slowly begin to piece themselves together. My sanity begins to return and I realize I'm in some foreign place._ What's going on? Where am I? How did I get here?_

_Who am I?_

**Nothing.**

My entire being convulses at the sound, and I stumble back into the ground. _What? What the-_

**You are nothing.**

I hear it this time; a man's voice. It sounded inhuman and echoed unnaturally.

_What? Nothing? But I feel real! How else would-_

**What you feel is irrelevant.**

_How can that be?_ I begin to fall back into a familiar sense of panic.

_Familiar? That's right… I was just as scared as this a few moments ago… In a crash._

I try to recall the recent events. I was driving, I turned down onto a bridge, and then someone hit me and I went through the rails and into the sea. I remember the world that I was in, but I remember nothing about me before those last few seconds. I can't even recall my name.

**Your memories are useless now.**

I stop trying to remember at that. Instead, I piece what I did know together and come to the conclusion… _Am I dead?_

**Yes, for now.**

_What do you mean for now? What's happening to me? What am I?_

**You are nothing.**

I fall flat on my back and look up at the endless black. _Nothing?_

**Nothing…**

**Nothing but my servant.**

I sit up. _Your servant? Why? Just who are you?_

An overwhelming presence fills the air. I can barely breathe…

**I am your master now. Your life is in my hands. You are my servant, my knight. With my guidance you will bring suffering and death to this pathetic world. You will aid me in this quest. I am punishment, you are my punisher.**

I could barely wrap my head around his words. _Pathetic world? Punishment? Are you some sort of alien or something?_

**I am no being. I am a god of dark magic; once feared, now forgotten. My true name is impossible for you… Instead, you may call me Arcane… Yes… I think that is appropriate for now.**

His response only gives me more questions._ Arcane? And you're a god? Why did you choose me?_

**That is for me to know. You are only my servant.**

_Then, what happens now?_

**Your journey begins.**

_What? W-wait, what if I don't want to do this? I don't want to help destroy the world!_

**You have no choice. You will obey me.**

_No! No no no no! I'm not…Just leave me alone! I don't want this!_

I rise up from the ground and take off, running away from the presence. However, I do not know if I am moving anywhere. I want to scream but I find I cannot speak.

**Your instability is disappointing, but understandable. You will come to accept your fate soon enough…**

I continue to run through the empty space. All I know is that I don't want anything to do with this Arcane thing.

**You arrive soon. You must awaken…**

**Awaken.**

**Awaken!**

**AWAKEN!**

* * *

"AAAAHHH!" I scream. Half of it is fear from the voice, half from the sudden function of my senses. My now open eyes burn from the light of a lantern and I immediately go blind again.

My mind is wild; I quickly rise up from the floor and hastily turn to run. A low wall bumps into me and I nearly fall backwards over it.

A small hand catches my shirt to stop my fall. "Whoa Whoa Whoa! Easy now! I'd hate to fish you out of the river again!" I'm pulled back, but still imbalanced. I fall face first into the floor. The pain snaps me out of my fear.

"Ack! Ugh, what the hell just happened? Where am I?" I'm dazed; my eyes are still adjusting so I cannot see clearly.

"Calm down now… I know it's a little scary the first time. You're on the Sanzu right now." It was a woman's voice. Her casual tone helps to put me at ease.

"Sanzu?" this confuses me, I've never heard of such a place.

"Yeah…ya know, the Sanzu River? The one leading to the afterlife? You sure you feeling okay there?

I take a deep breath…"Okay... Yeah, let me just let me catch my breath and I'll be okay."

"Sure, take your time." Footsteps move away.

_At least I hope I'll be okay. How did I get on a river?_

I manage to focus my eyes enough to see the wood of a boat… It looks like a row boat, although no one is rowing. Peering over the edge I see ghostly mist swirling over the river flow. Other than that, there is only endless night.

_She said this was the river leading to the afterlife… so I really am dead… I guess it was just a nightmare, that's good at least. I wouldn't want to hurt anyone because I became some kind of demon._

_But if I'm dead, this woman must be Death… _I look up at the figure at the head of the boat.

_Whoa… holy crap!_

I had expected to see something intimidating… or at least something representative of death. What I saw was neither. The large crooked scythe slung over her shoulders was the only indication she wasn't an ordinary girl. However, I was more focused on its owner...

Lounging on the front of the boat was a tall, buxom redhead woman. She wore a blue day dress that had some kind of white flare design on the skirt. Her hair was tied into twin pony tails and was an unnaturally deep shade of red, which accented her with a strange alien beauty. Her low cut dress and tight sash emphasized her large chest… not to mention her lazy stance showed off much of her legs beneath her dress.

Of course, I was flustered. "A-are you…I what do I…?"I wanted to ask her for a name, but I could barely focus, just looking at her gave me a thrill.

She glances over at me; her red eyes had an eerie red glow. "Stop shaking the boat. I'm not going to pull you out twice so keep still."

_Whoa! Let's not piss off the death girl with red eyes. I just need to calm down. Just relax. I'm better than letting myself get tripped up over girls. _

I take a few deep breaths. "So what's your name?"

"Komachi Onozuka. I ferry the souls here." She replies "What's your name?"

I hesitate.

She speaks a little more loudly this time "What's your name?"

_I don't know it! What should I say?_

I try to think up some sort of idea…I remember a certain phrase from my nightmare.

'_You are my servant, my knight'. For some reason this really stands out. It may not be a name, but it feels close to me. This will have to do for now at least; I can't stay nameless forever._

"Knight… Call me Knight."

"Just Knight? What an odd name…Here, take a seat. It's going to be a little while." Komachi gestures to the other seat on the boat.

I take a seat facing my guide, and she sits up to face me. The glow from her eyes makes me a little nervous.

I try to start with small talk. "This is a nice boat you have."

Actually, it looks brand new; very spacious, and the hull doesn't have a single scar.

She chuckles "Isn't it the greatest little boat? I had to save up for nearly two centuries to replace that old board I used to ferry with!"

_Centuries! How old is she? She looks like she's still in her twenties! _I stare at her, and she innocently stares back with her glowing stare.

Even with her strange nature and unusual appearance she was still one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. When she suddenly begins to smile at me, I have to struggle to keep from blushing like an idiot.

"So Knight, how'd you get here?" She asks.

I am at a loss. "Uh…"

"The river I mean, I mean. How'd you get stuck in the Sanzu? It's not every day someone just ends up here!"

_How did I get here? All I can remember is that I died in a crash and had some sort of surreal nightmare about being told I'm going to cause suffering and death. What do I say? _

_Just go with what I know for sure I guess._

"I don't remember much. But…I think I died."

"Really now? How did that happen? It wasn't too terrible I hope." Her interest in my death unnerves me a little.

"Umm…I think…I fell off a bridge and drowned."

"Oooh! that's gotta suck. I've heard drowning is really painful." The fact that her smile did not fade makes me wonder how much she really cares. I'm starting to get more and more nervous.

She goes on "Well, that would explain how you got here. Sudden appearances in the Sanzu are sometimes caused by gruesome watery deaths." She looks up at the dark foggy sky and ponders for a moment.

"But…that doesn't explain why you're actually still alive."

_Wait, What? _

"I'm alive?" I ask

Komachi's expression goes blank. "Uhh…yeah? How do you not know? You're a perfectly healthy young youkai as far as I can tell."

My mind freezes. _What did she call me?_

"What?"

Now it's her turn to look confused. "Youkai…Ya know youkai! Youkai! C'mon! How do you not know what a youkai is? You really aren't feeling well are you?"

I slump into my seat. "I don't know…No…No I'm not…"

_I'm not dead…and apparently I'm some sort of monster. What's happening to me?_

No longer sure of my own being, I decide to check to see if I've changed. My body is still the same. My clothes…Black baggy long sleeved shirt, dark jeans and boots. It was casual attire, nothing odd.

Komachi senses what I am trying to do. "Oh…you're a pretty normal looking youkai. Here." She reaches into the folds of her dress and pulls out a large silver coin. The polished surface is as clear as a mirror and I use it as such.

My face is normal. I see an adult male. Except…

_Holy shit…what's wrong with me?_

My eyes were red. Not glowing like Komachi's. But darker and swirling like a hurricane. My hair had changed to a mix of dark gray and black, making it look like coal. It definitely wasn't human.

The redhead chuckled a little. "Hey, at least you aren't human! You have a nice long life and-"

I cut her off "But I AM human! I remember that at least! I remember the car crash and the bridge, that world didn't have any of this! How can this be happening?"

Komachi looks perplexed "Crash? What do you mean?"

Before I can answer, she gasps in shock "Wait! I know what's happening!" She leans forward a bit. The mischievous grin on her face did not help to put me at ease.

She points at me. "You're an outsider aren't you? The strange manners, the funny clothes, and you got that witch's accent. You have to be!"

A new term to consider slows me enough to talk normally. "What do you mean outsider?"

"You're not from here. You aren't a native resident. I knew it! I'm glad I found you!" She seems excited.

_Well that makes sense, because I have no idea what's going on! _"Well, what happens to outsiders?"

She happily explains. "Usually, human outsiders get killed by youkai." I almost choke at that, but she does not notice.

She continues. "But you are human outsider that became a youkai. Usually this takes a long reincarnation cycle, but you seem to have done so instantly!"

"So what does that mean for me?" I ask.

Komachi claps her hands together. "That's just it! I have no idea! Someone powerful is altering your existence, and when outsiders get involved with youkai it means something really big is going to happen!"

She begins to rant. "If it turns out to be bad, I might get _time off!_ Do you know how long it's been since I got a formal leave? All I ever get is more work and…"

I don't even hear her anymore; something she just said gave me a chill.

_Altering my existence? Like… controlling me? No…it was just a nightmare though. I'm just an ordinary guy! Except… I'm not ordinary anymore._

_It has to be a coincidence! This is really strange, but I know that dream wasn't real!_

"W-well, it can't be that important… I'm going to the afterlife after all."

Komachi shakes her head "Sorry, but I'm not bringing you to the afterlife right now. We're actually going upstream. Did I forget to say that? I would get in huge trouble if I brought someone alive! No, I'm taking you back. In fact, the shore is just up ahead."

Amid the endless fog, a small lamp hangs off the post of a dock not too far away.

"Whoa, hold on! What am I supposed to do when I get up there?" I ask hurriedly.

Komachi stands up and uses her scythe to latch on to the nearby dock and pulls the boat in. "I dunno, I'm just a Shinigami. Living really isn't my thing ya know?"

I don't know what a Shinigami is, but I really don't care right now.

_You're DEATH! How can you not have anything useful to say? _I silently scream

After a moment she speaks. "Well...You should try looking for Reimu; she knows some stuff that might help a new youkai learn about living here." She motions for me to step off "You'd better go now."

Once on land I turn to face Komachi. "Where do I go from here?"

She points into the night "Go down that hill. Soon, you'll find the Road of Liminality; there are a few merchant stalls there so it should be easy to spot. Follow it through the valleys all the way to the end. The signs point the way from there. Reimu lives in a shrine beneath the mountains."

"Okay" I reply. "Thanks Komachi, you're the best."

_I'm a little scared to go on my own. But there isn't anything I can do about it. I have to find this Reimu and figure out what's really happening to me…I just wish I knew what I'm going to find out there._

She smiles. "Come visit me when things get cleared up okay? I hardly get any real company down here."

I nod. "Sure."

With a wave goodbye, she pushes off with her scythe and heads back downstream for some unknown purpose. Soon she fades, and I am alone on the shores.

I begin making my way down the hill Komachi pointed at.

_Better get going. I have to figure out what's going on with me, and what this nightmare-_

**You have arrived. Good.**

My blood goes cold. The familiar sickening presence seeps into my skull. "Y-you!"

**Welcome to Gensokyo my servant. It is time for you to begin.**

* * *

A/N

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. the next one will be ready soon.

Any reviews or comments you would like to give are appreciated.


	2. Defiance

For the longest time, I do not move. Fear holds me still. The dark presence in my mind is all too terrifying.

**You waste time servant. The sooner we begin, the sooner-**

I snap. "Who are you! What do you-"

**Do not shout idiot. You will draw attention. Speak with your mind.**

"You can speak into my mind?" I ask aloud.

**I said do not shout… Yes, it is the only way I communicate. Only you can hear me.**

I try to calm down and think… _Okay, but what are you!_

**We have already spoken. I am Arcane. With you, I will bring destruction to this world. You will begin in Gensokyo.**

I can hardly believe what I'm hearing. _Am I really the servant to an evil god? Why does this have to happen? Why do I have to do it?_

**That is for me to know. You will learn when you are ready. For now, you must begin your journey.**

_I-_

**I said move. **The sudden interruption startles me.

Were this the first time I heard him I would have been terrified. But I know what this is now, and I refuse to accept my orders.

_No. I won't help you! You'll have to kill me first! You can just go to hell Arcane!_

**Impudent servant! You will-**

_NO! Fuck you! _My mental scream disrupts the dark swirling in my head.

**Hmph! Your reckless nature is troublesome; my original plan will not work if you refuse to listen. But I don't think it will stop me from getting use from you. **The agitation in the cool voice was satisfying to hear.

**Fine then. If you will not listen, I will allow you to lead instead. Know that whether or not you live or die, I will get what I want from you. I will help you only because it spares me the difficulty of finding another servant.**

I was surprised. _Wait? That's it? No demonic wrath or something? That was easy!_

**Confident? Don't be. I can still pull a few strings when I have to. It will be enjoyable to watch you dance when I do. **My head clears as Arcane loosens his grip. I realize I've been standing on side of the hill for several minutes now. I am at a slight loss after all of this.

**Well then? Is your plan to stay here until you rot? You should decide soon servant. This world is not as hospitable as the one you know.**

_Quiet up there!_

**…**

I wait a few moments to wait and make sure he will not interrupt again. When nothing happens, I begin to make my way down the hill again.

The rocks on the hillside looked kind of creepy under the soft moonlight. The terrain around me was barren and mountainous, so going down was tiring.

"Ugh, how far down is this place?" I contemplate to myself. "At least it's a cool night."

However, my mind is elsewhere._ I'm curious about this place. Genokyo I think he called it? I wonder what kind of place it is. I mean, Death was a hot redhead. It doesn't get any crazier than that does it?_

I continue to walk into the night…

'_Whether or not you live or die…' Does that mean I'm screwed either way? Maybe I'm like a time bomb and one day I'll just explode. Gah! That's not a pleasant image. I need to hurry up and find this person and figure out how to fix this!_ I quicken my pace.

After what seems like an hour, I see a few lights in the distance. As I draw closer I begin to see the outline of a road.

I sigh. "Whew! Finally! Looks like we are making progress."

After another minute of walking, Arcane stirs within my mind.

**They approach.**

I'm a little irritated at first. But knowing I'm in charge lets me keep my composure.

_Okay, who's approaching?_

"Well well well! Look who we got here. A lost little boy all the way out here!" A female voice taunts.

My heart speeds up. _Oh man, that sounds really bad._

I quickly look around for the source of the voice. Behind me are two identical women, their hands were long claws and their frozen smiles were laid with razor sharp fangs. Fresh blood dripped from their tattered clothes.

_Holy shit! What are those! _I panic.

**Youkai. These beasts crave the flesh of humans. Civilized youkai may be friendly, but these are wild. They will try to kill you.**

One of the twins points at me. "Look at his eyes. He's got magic. We should leave him. We've already gotten enough for today."

The other just laughs. "HAHAHAHA! Just leave him?The magic ones are always the best tasting! It's been a long time since I got to eat a magic human. Let us feast on him together."

_Holy shit, are they really going to eat me? These youkai are nuts!_

But then something clicks.

_Wait. She thinks I'm human. Komachi said I was youkai. Maybe I can clear this up._

I clear my throat. "Hey girls. I'm a youkai too. You don't want to eat me do you? That would be bad wouldn't it?" I try to sound as polite as possible. It sounds a little funny to hear myself talk so casually about being eaten.

The both look a little confused at this, although it's hard to tell with all those fangs. "You? You don't seem like any youkai I know. I definitely don't sense any youkai blood in you."

**That is because you are no youkai. **Arcane adds.

This catches me off guard. _What do you mean? Komachi said I was!_

**The Shinigami woman is mistaken as well. You are my servant and nothing more. Your true existence is known only to me.**

_Argh! Damn you! What do I say now? Just make stuff up?_

But before I can say anything, one of them speaks. "Well, doesn't matter if your youkai or not. You got some weird magic in you, so that should at least entertain us for a little while. Let's play!" Their menacing smile grows a little and they advance towards me.

_Oh man! They are going to kill me! There's no way I'm fighting those things, I'm outta here!_

Without waiting for them to strike first I turn back towards the road and run. The road's edge is still a good mile away.

I travel only a few steps when one of the attackers flies overhead and lands in front of me. "Oh? Think you're going to run for help? Not happening!" She hisses.

_Did she just jump over me? _I'm completely stunned.

I'm pinned between two murderous monsters. I can't run, and I certainly can't fight… I look around for some way out, but the only option is to run into the night, and that won't get me very far.

_Am I going to die? These things are really going to kill me! What do I do?_

**Use your powers. Vanquish these beasts.**

_Power? What power? I'm just an- _My thoughts are cut off.

**You forget what you are. Now you must focus and listen to me. I will show you how to fight this time.**

_But-_

**Unless you wish to die you will not argue. They will strike any second and you will perish if you do not listen. **He spoke quickly. The two youkai raise really did look like they were about to charge.

I give up. _Okay._

**Clear your mind. Banish all thoughts.**

I close my eyes and let my mind go blank. Only Arcane's shapeless form floats in my head.

**I will show you a weapon that you may use, reach for it with your mind.**

I feel something appear in my head. Something… sharp.

I reach for it with a mental hand. At the same time, I feel something fit into my own hand. _Ok…what just happened._ I open my eyes.

Right in front of me is one of the youkai, her sharp claws glisten in the moonlight.

_Oh shit!_ I throw up my arms in defense. But to my surprise she retreats when I do. When I lower my arms I see a katana sword in my hands.

**Good. You can fight with that sword. Now defeat these fiends.**

I'm impressed by the sword. The fine serrated blade and steel handle look tough, and is light enough to use in one hand. But…_Can I really use this? I've never even held a sword before!_

**Focus! Raise your guard.**

_Oh, right! _I ready my sword… and I have no idea what to do with it.

The girl I just backed off charges again, howling like a maniac as she does. Behind me, another howl rings out.

I have no clue as to what to do next, but I don't run. It's a leap of faith for me. _Here we go!_

I wait for the youkai in front to strike first. Her claws grind against my sword... somehow.

_What the…how did I do that?_ I thought.

My arms had instinctively raised my sword into a parry. Before I even realize what I'm doing I automatically bring my sword back down into a slash. A stream of blood rises out from the youkai's face and shoulder.

_Holy-Ah! _My mind snaps back into action instantly. I spin around and give a wide sideways slash. My attack catches the incoming youkai by surprise and sends her into the ground. Another plume of blood rises up.

I blink… on each side of me is are two youkai women toppled over by an expertly performed counter attack… that I have no idea how I just did.

**Good. You remember. **Arcane calmly states.

Now, I'm confused. _Remember what? How the heck did I just do that?_

**Not now idiot. Strike while they are down. Spill their blood.**

I grip my sword in both hands. It feels natural in me. _Do I really know how to do this?_ I'm not sure what to think about this, but I'm not going to stand around and think about it.

I move in on one of the creatures just as she rises up. "Grrr. I knew I should ha-AAAAH!" She goes wide-eyed when she sees me charge at her.

Once in sword reach I let my instincts do the work. A series of bone splitting cracks ring out as my strikes ruthlessly split her skull over and over again. She falls back into the ground, and does not move. Blood runs freely down the various gashes across her head.

I look at the fallen youkai… For some reason, her mutilated face does not repulse me; I should be horrified! It's as if…

**You're accustomed to this? You are now. My powers are death and despair. You are of that power now.**

I look down. _Still…_

**Pay attention! Something important is about to happen.** His scolding voice wakes me up. _R-right. _I look back at the corpse one last time. S_orry lady, you brought that on yourself._

I turn to face the other youkai. She was now standing a good distance away. Her claws were wreathed in some kind of red energy.

She still smiles despite the gruesome flow emerging from the gash in her stomach. "He he…ha ha ha…So you can fight a little…how about a little danmaku fight then? Think you can handle that?"

_Err. What's that?_ I've never even heard of 'danmaku' before.

**Danmaku. It is the universal art of combat in Gensokyo. It is the use of magic to unleash volleys of projectiles to overwhelm the opponent. You should be able to deflect weak danmaku with that sword. Now watch closely.**

I raise my sword up in anticipation for whatever she throws at me. _Alright, here goes nothing._

"DIE!" she screeches.

The woman holds her hands out and magical orbs fly out from her palms. One after the other, she unleashes her missiles in rapid-fire.

I catch the first one with my sword; the bullet shatters on my sword with a sharp clang. I accustom myself to the blocking techniques quickly and stop each of the incoming attacks with increasing ease.

**Do not stand there idiot. Advance and strike her. Danmaku will go on forever if you do not retaliate.**

_Right. _I block one more orb before taking advantage of the short gap to close in. Dodging and blocking like a mad man, I advance on the youkai.

_Oh man! I can't believe this is happening! _I continue to duck and swing my sword as I try to wade through the onslaught. The youkai is only a few feet away now.

**Good. Focus your energy into your weapon. Strike her with all your might.**

I grit my teeth and tighten my grip on the sword. "Grrrrr." For some reason, it works. My blade begins to cackle with strange energy currents.

"Take this!" I shout as I wind up for my slash.

The youkai doesn't even notice me emerge from her rapid-fire magic. My sword's charge amplifies the slash to an impossible level, splitting her into two halves with just a single swipe. A shower of blood flies across the landscape. I pull back the sword and let her halves collapse. A river of blood spills out and flows down the rocks.

**Excellent. Sweet death… I doubt even her youkai regenerative powers will save her from such a grave wound. Well done servant. **Hearing him talk like that almost makes me sick.

All is silent now silent and I am now alone in the rocky landscape with two bloody corpses.

I throw my sword in disgust and sit on one of the untouched rocks… _Well that was fucking fantastic, really. I just conjured a katana out of nowhere and then somehow tore apart two monster-girls like some kind of psycho ninja… not to mention I got shot at with MAGIC! This place is just getting weirder and weirder. That and I've completely transformed into some sort of superhuman killer. This is just horrible._

**You are a killer now. You will find yourself in many more confrontations and they will be harder than these thugs so accustom yourself to this. Now gather your wits. You have more traveling to do. You have done well tonight my servant.**

I wanted to scream at Arcane buy could not find it in me. He was right, I was in a new and hostile place, I would have to deal with this more often. I may not want to kill, but if I want to rid myself of this madness I will need to learn to survive.

I look back at my dropped sword an pick it up. _A katana huh? _I give it a look over; the blade is slick with red.

**The katana is my gift to you, but you have the power to create many weapons. Your mind is a forge. You will need to do this on your own from now on. Now, relax your mind to remove your weapons.**

I relax a little and the sword fades out of my hand...strangely enough, the blood on my arms also fades. _What the?_

**The blood is mine to keep. Consider it tribute to me from now on. You should hasten away from here before more youkai arrive.**

I sigh. This is really starting to hurt my head. Hopefully things will improve when I get to this road.

Leaving the dead bodies behind, I begin to make my way to the ghostly lights of the Road of Liminality.

_Komachi was wrong about me being a youkai. Hopefully she isn't wrong about Reimu being able to help me._

I thought I just heard a chuckle.

**…**

I guess not. I continue onward, stepping on to the long cobblestone road. It's going to be a long walk.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. This is my first time writing an action scene, so i hope it came off well.

The next one will be ready soon.


	3. Night With a Sparrow

_What the hell is with this place? This is creepy! Really creepy! _

Cautiously, I continue to travel the haunted Road of Liminality. My heart beats quickly, and I'm sure I'd be sweating bullets if it wasn't so cold.

Along the dimly lit road are countless shadows marching in the direction opposite of mine. Some of the apparitions move over to the worn out stalls dotting the edge of the road, where they purchase various odds and ends from the strange youkai merchants there.

A road full of ghosts is eerie in its own right, but what's even weirder is how quiet it is.

Many of the apparitions ignore me; often passing right through me without even noticing. I've tried talking to the merchants already, but most are too busy to lend an ear, and since I have no money there really isn't anything I can do to get their attention.

Even though I'm the only living soul actually on the road for as far as I can see, neither the merchants nor the ghosts say a thing to me…

It's an uncomfortable feeling to say the least.

_I hope this road isn't long! I'm not sure how much I can take of this place._ I nervously wonder to myself.

I wander past the long rows of merchants. It's going to take a little while. With no one to talk to I am left alone to my own thoughts… alone with Arcane.

**This road is a place of death and regret. The air is rich with sorrows of life lost. It is a good place. **He muses.

_You're sick you know that right? How can you possibly get excited about this place?_

**You are a fool to not see it. This is how the world should be. This is freedom.**

I grit my teeth. _ But everyone is a ghost. They're dead! How is this good?_

**Do you not remember that youkai? When you killed her you freed her soul. Her life was a burden. You should take satisfaction in your work.**

Remembering how the woman collapsed into two halves made my stomach turn. _No… you made me into some kind of killer! I never wanted this. I just wanted to live a normal life and now you've fucked me up!_

**You will never be normal now. You are a being of dark magic. You should accept your fate.**

I resolve myself against this. _No. I'll get out of this. One day, I'll get rid of you._

**Will you now? This journey will be a memorable one indeed.**

I try to come up with another thought but before I can, Arcane speaks again.

**Something else requires your attention. There is someone over there.**

"Hey! You there! Come over here and give me a hand with this!" A voice calls down the road.

**I will leave you to this. **Arcane says as he retreats.

I blink. Looking over to the source of the voice I see a girl. She had one of those small food carts that you can push and wheel around. Her cart wheels were stuck in a pit in the road.

_A girl? She looks a little tied up. Let's see if I can get her out. _I jog over to the cart.

The girl waited for me to arrive. She looked like a young teenager, she had bright pink hair, and wore a faded brown dress. Her grey eyes glowed with inner light, just like many of the other youkai around here. She seemed like some kind of bird thanks to the grey feathery wings and feather ornaments on her hat.

_She's a youkai. The others along the road didn't seem too bad; hopefully she's ok too. At least she isn't as weird looking as the others._

Once I approach she speaks again. "Thanks for listening. Can you help me with this? I think I got it stuck."

"Uh, sure." It's just a little snag, but the cart is too large to lift alone. "Give it a pull and I'll lift it from beneath."

"Ok." She moves to the handles and grips them. "Ready?"

"Yeah. Do it."

She pulls on the cart, lifting the stuck wheels a little off the ground; I quickly grab the cart from beneath and try to heft it up over the pit.

"Nnnngh!" It's heavy, but after a few seconds I get it out of the crack. With the wheel suddenly free I lose balance and go face first into the stone.

"Ack!" My head spins a little. _Ok, not my best approach._

I begin to pull myself off the ground. Standing next to me is the girl I helped. Her young face was grinning at me. "Thanks for helping me. Here" she offers a hand.

Using her as a little boost I rise to my feet. "Whew, thanks."

_She seems pretty nice, maybe we'll get along alright. _I think to myself.

"My name is Mystia. Thanks for the lift." Her voice almost had a sing-song tone.

"I'm Knight, and you're welcome." I reply.

She looks right into my eyes. "Kind of odd…"

_Odd? I hope I'm not going to keep getting that. _

She gestures towards the cart. "I would offer to sell you some lamprey but I just ran out. I'm actually going out to get some more."

_Lamprey? Isn't that some kind of fish leech?_

I shake my head. "It's fine I'm not hungry anyways. But I'm actually heading out of here too. Mind if I go with?" _Please say yes, I really don't be alone in this place any longer than I have to._

"Ok I guess. It gets kind of boring walking all the way back by yourself. Another youkai to go with would be nice." She picks up her cart and begins to walk. I walk alongside her.

Walking along a ghostly road in the dark with a girl who has wings is a little surreal. But it was relaxing nonetheless.

"Yeah, it's really quiet. Seems a little too quiet for a market road." I add.

Mystia shrugs "The dead aren't the most sociable people. Most of them are really sad, or really weird."

To me, it seems strange for people, even these creatures, to come out to such a haunted place to begin with. "So why do you come out here then?"

She gives a light reassuring pat to her food cart "This!"

_Food… _"Do ghosts really need to eat?'

She grins a little mischievously. "Are you kidding? This stuff sells like crazy! I can't keep up sometimes!"

_So ghosts eat? Kind of weird. _"Well… I'm glad it's going good for you"

She nods "You bet it is."

"So what do you intend to do with your money? I mean, do you have something you're saving up for?" I ask

She ponders for a second. "Well… I really want to open up a more permanent restaurant. Some place where I could sing for the customers. It would be great to have a place where people actually came to listen to me."

_She does sound like a singer_. "So you like sing? I bet you're pretty good at it."

She smiles a little. "Yeah. I sing all the time. Except…" Her smile fades, and she looks down. "Except no one listens…"

_Uh oh, I hope I didn't step on a nerve here. _"Um… Why is that? Not good with crowds or something?"

Mystia frowns. "I love to sing, but usually I have to sing by myself. When I try to sing for other people, they get really upset. I'm trying to get better, but no one seems to like it. I just really don't understand why."

Arcane returns. **Her magic is to blame. Her music induces chaos and weakness of the mind. You would do well to avoid her song.**

My heart sinks. _ That's just… to love something that literally drives people crazy… Damn._

"I'm really sorry to hear that. Sorry for bringing it up." I try to apologize.

She sighs. "It's fine. I've gotten used to it. At least people like my cooking."

_That's the spirit. _"Yeah, stick with what you know right?"

She nods. "You'll come to try my lamprey when I get more won't you Knight?"

**Suffering is your only need. Indulgence is useless.**

_Hey! Screw you. _"Yeah, definitely. I'd love to." I agree in spite of Arcane. I honestly don't know when, but after learning about Mystia the least I could do is try to show some appreciation.

**You agree to this? I hope you enjoy wasting my time.**

I ignore him. Soliciting more responses from him won't do anything.

I haven't even realized how long we've been walking. The end of the road is coming up. The stalls have thinned out and the rocky terrain is becoming grassier. Most of the ghosts are behind us now.

Up ahead appears to be a fork in the road. One path winds forward and the other turns sharply left.

"Hey, I never asked where you're going." Mystia ponders. She must be wondering if we split up here.

"Oh, I'm going to find Reimu." _Whoever she is…_

"I'm going back to Misty Lake. It's on the way to the shrine." She points to forward path.

"Ok, mind if we stick together?"

She nods. "It's not too much further for me anyways."

_Oh good. Anything is better than more time alone. It's nice to have company; even this youkai girl is nice. Maybe this will be easy._

**It will not. I sense a foe. His air is heavy with killing intent.**

I freeze in place. _Oh no. Not again! Am I going to have to fight?_

**Indeed. The time has come to once again perform your service to me.**

_Shit shit shit shit! I need to warn Mystia!_

"Mystia! Someone's coming. I think it's bad!" I cannot hide the tension in my voice.

Mystia looks around. "Huh? I don't see anyone. Where?"

We both frantically search the field around us. After a moment Mystia points over at something in the distance. "Oh no. It's one of those?" She groans.

I look to where she is pointing. Approaching is a lone figure. It's a little hard to see it in the dark of the early morning, but it appears to be pretty big.

I look towards Mystia. "Should we run? He's still far enough for us to get away. "

**Do not abandon your duty servant.**

I would have argued, but Mystia disagrees as well.

"Nah. If it's who I think it is than it shouldn't be more than an annoyance. I could use a little stretch anyways." She wheels her cart over to a standing rock where it is out of the way.

I'm completely shocked. _This… girl… is… nuts!_

"Whoa whoa! Wait! You aren't worried?" I nervously ask.

She giggles. "No way. Don't you know I'm night youkai? I've got the upper hand!"

_This girl can fight? But she's so innocent looking. How?_

**Gensokyo is ruled by the laws of battle and victory. The majority of Gensokyo is skilled in combat. ** Arcane calmly states.

I facepalm. _Holy shit. You weren't lying about this not going to be easy. Did you really have to throw me into a world like this?_

**You would do well to learn from your companion's example. If you were as confident as her than you would not be distraught by this.**

"Are you ok Knight? You look like you're having a panic attack." Mystia asks.

I look back up. "Nothing. Just a little nervous is all… I'm not the greatest in a fight."

"I can take him by myself, so you can sit back if you want." Mystia replies.

I shake my head. "No, I still know a few things. I'll help." _I'm not going to cower while she does all the dangerous work. I… I took out those other youkai girls… I'll help take out this thing if I have to too. Mystia isn't scared, I shouldn't be either._

I sigh.

_Arcane says the world is full of this. If I lose it every time something comes my way than I'll never get anywhere. I'm in a world of monsters… I'll have to play by the rules if I want to live... Gensokyo's rules._

**Perhaps you are learning after all. Now prepare yourself.**

"Finally! I've been looking all night for a fight! You ready for a beating!" The loud throaty voice came from the man coming this way.

I could get a good look at him now. He had a dark blue leathery skin that shines under the fading moonlight. He was easily ten feet tall, and his body was almost deformed by his bulging muscles. He is a walking wall of raw power.

In his hand is a large mallet made of nothing more than a fat block of metal fixed to a pole. He looked like a real demon with the various spikes jutting from his shoulders and skull. Even though I resolved to fight, I'm still frightened by him.

"Whoa… What is that?" I ask Mystia.

"An oni." She says.

"Oni?" I'm a little confused.

"Yes, oni." She confirms.

_Uhhh... That doesn't really help me._

**The oni are demons. They are famous for the peerless strength and thirst for battle. This ogre appears to be mad with bloodlust.**

The oni's face was twisted into an angered snarl. _Yep, definitely mad._

Mystia looks over at me one last time. "You sure you are going to be ok?"

I nod. _ I hope I'm ready for this._

I clear my mind. The katana still floats around in my head. It takes me a few tries as I try to grasp at my thoughts, but in a few seconds I conjure the weapon back into my hand.

My mind is more ready this time. I can feel and focus on each of the techniques and disciplines in my body. I'm not going to let myself just go by instincts this time.

_Here he comes. No escape now._

The oni breaks into a charging run. "Get ready to DIE!" He roars.

Mystia raises her hand into the air; calling forth a current of magic. "I'll show you the Wonder of the Night Sparrow!" She calls back.

**Flood the sky with his screams! **The contorted hissing in my head makes my heart skip a beat.

I make no effort to raise my voice. "Ok, big guy. Let's do this."

With all things said, both parties advance. Me and Mystia engage the oni in deadly conflict on the edge of the haunted road.

* * *

A/N

Thank you for reading my next chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. Reviews are appreciated.

To me, Mystia's ability to confuse and blind with her songs seems like more of a tragic flaw than a superpower. Espicially given that she is a sparrow: a songbird. I'm writing this as a darker story, so ill be trying to interpert some of the possible flaws and horrors that may exist in this 'fantasy' world.

The next chapter will be ready soon. Thanks again.


	4. Singer and Sword

"HOOOOOO!" The oni's war cry echoed across the rocky plains. The air whirred loudly as he swung his giant hammer around his head; winding up a mighty crushing blow.

"Look out for that hammer." I call out. I ready myself to dodge the incoming hammer, hoping Mystia will do the same.

Once in range the oni brings his hammer straight down. Waiting till the last second I step back from the strike. But even though I avoid the attack, it still sends me reeling. The splitting of earth was as loud as gunfire, and the tower of dust that he sent up is completely blinding.

_Wow. That was loud! C'mon focus! _I regain my balance after a few seconds.

The beast growls when his eyes find me still standing. Earth crumbles away as he pulls the buried mallet back out for another attack.

_Alright, if I can slip past his next attack I can-_

"Hiyaa!"

A burst of green light strikes the oni in the chest, sending him a step back. It doesn't look like it seriously hurt him, but it certainly surprised him.

_Mystia… _I look for the youkai girl. I'm a little surprised to see her hovering well above the ground, unfazed by the swing. With a confident smile, she readies more of her danmaku.

Her hands begin to hum softly as energy gathers into them. She then slices through the air with her fingertips, scattering green orbs in the oni's direction.

"Hmph! Nice try little girl, but it won't work!" The blast does not strike his body this time, but his hammer. With astonishing speed the oni swings his mallet through the cluster of bullets; sending them in all directions.

"HAAAA!" The oni booms again as he winds up for another slam; this time at Mystia.

"Mystia! Watch out!" I yell in warning.

"Don't worry, He doesn't stand a chance." She hovers stoically in place. She does not look worried at all.

_Just where is all of that courage coming from? Can she really handle this guy? Is it just because she's a youkai?_

He swings his hammer furiously at Mystia, but she easily flies back. He does a return swing, but she simply floats over it. Again and again he swings and punches at the youkai girl to no avail. She remains playfully out of reach of her attacker while firing her danmaku. Swinging and roaring, he tries to fight through her danmaku onslaught to reach the elusive girl.

I continue to follow behind them as their fight carries them around the road and field.

_Their fighting is going all over the place. If I move in I might get in the way, or even get shot by Mystia._ _I wish I had my own danmaku… that would make this easy._

**Do not try it. Your magic capacity is insufficient to maintain such a strong flow of energy. **Arcane warns.

_Really? I guess I'll have to-Whoa wait! Hold on! I have a capacity for magic?_

**Indeed. You have both command of both steel and spell.**

_Well I need the spell part! What does it do? How do I use it?_

**Your magic is shapeless. It bends to your will. I cannot show you how this works; it is something you yourself must uncover.**

_Ok I guess… Just try stuff and see what happens?_

I slow down and let the fight move further away from me. I extend my arm to prepare myself for whatever I'm about to try and do. I try thinking about different emotions, objects, colors… nothing happens.

"Knight? What are you doing? Stop making weird gestures and- whoa!" Mystia loses balance thanks to a chunk of rock thrown at one of her wings.

Using the advantage, the oni scoops Mystia out of the air. Her entire upper body fits into just one of his oversized hands.

The powerful beast scowls as he clenches his fist as hard as he can, slowly draining her life with a deadly grip.

"Ah! Hey hey hey! Stop! Knight, give me hand!" Her voice is already weakening from the inability to breathe.

I've let myself get to far away for my melee. I need a ranged attack, but nothing seems to make my magic activate.

_Fuck! He's going to kill her! Arcane, my magic isn't working!_

**…**

_Arcane! ARCANE! Damn you!_

"H…urry" Mystia calls out. Her singing voice cracks from the pressure she's under.

"Shit… Come on, work…" My heart is racing. Mystia is going to get crushed to death right in front of me.

_Come on magic! Do something! I don't care what it is, just fucking hit him already! Just don't let her die!_

I begin to feel something. A faint heat stings my fingertips; the air around me begins to shift. Hoping for something to happen, I aim my hand.

Suddenly strange thoughts flood my head. Words resound from deep inside…

"Shake their very soul. Make them feel my power. Mysterious Tremor!"

That last word echoed across the rocky field. The thin ray of deep green energy fired from my hand sinks into the oni, unbalancing and weakening him. It was a weak spell, but it was the advantage I needed.

"Ugh!" The oni grunts as he inexplicably stumbles. In the process he drops Mystia, who wastes no time in dealing her counterattack; a burst attack to his head forces him right into the ground.

I clutch my head and fall to my knees in pain. _Ugh… what just happened? Did I just stun him? Why do I hurt all of the sudden?_

**Your dark magic draws upon your own essence. Conjuring weapons and casting spells will exhaust your mind. You will grow stronger, but you will always have a limit.**

"Ok… sparing with the powers…got it." I mutter to myself as I rise up again.

"Who are you talking to? Why are you on the ground?"

"Nothing. Just a little on edge. I guess you're ok?" I look at Mystia. To my surprise, she looks completely unharmed, and is standing with no trouble at all.

"Yep! Good hit by the way. I don't think I've ever seen danmaku wear out someone like that before."

I smile a little. "Not danmaku. Just a new trick I learned."

She makes a short leap back into the air. "I guess it's my turn to show you one of my own tricks then." Out of nowhere she materializes a card. With it in hand she faces her enemy, who is already getting back on his feet.

**So she does have one…**

It just looks like a decorative card to me. _One of what?_

**A spell card. They are the pinnacle of magical craft in Gensokyo. They allow one to call forth a great flow of magic.**

_Really? So those are the big guns then. Better not get in the way._

"Hit him good Mystia!" I cheer as I step behind her.

She gives me a quick nod before returning her focus to her spell card. She thrusts the card straight up, pronouncing its name as loud as she can.

"Night Blindness: Song of the Night Sparrow!"

The card burns into nothing as it is spent…

"What the-? WHAT! What the hell? What did you do to my eyes! Where'd you go?" The oni's burning red eyes were now solid black in color.

I lower my sword as I watch the oni look about in confusion. _ Night blindness? In this light, I bet he can't see a thing! _

"I, Mystia Lorelei, will see to it that you never see through the night again!" Still channeling her spell card, she fires a stream of dark red arrows. The sheer number and velocity is astonishing to me.

"GrrrraaaAAAAH!" the oni bellows in frustration as he attempts to shield his head while he blindly marches through the pelting bullets.

_Gotta keep helping her! Come on magic… _"Mysterious Tremor!" The spell comes easier this time, but I still fall down after I use it.

I gasp for air. "Did… it help?"

My beam mixes in with Mystia's attacks. The combination of danmaku and dark magic forces him back to one knee, but it only slows him for a second.

_What the hell is this guy made of? He's not even bleeding yet!_ Her danmaku continuously tore into him, but it didn't look like he was being harmed. However, he was tiring out; the constant explosions and blindness kept him off balance.

**She will be in danger soon.**

I look around for some other unseen foe, but everything is ok. _What are you talking about? You said danmaku doesn't run out for them right? She could do this all morning if she…_

My heart stops. _Morning! The sunlight! She doesn't know!_

I quickly get up and wave to try to get Mystia's attention. She slows down and faces me. "What! I'm in the middle of a spell card!" A few rays of sunlight shine on her agitated glare as she says this.

"GOTCHA!" The oni makes his move before I even get a word in.

Able to see again, the oni hurls his weapon. His throw turns the weapon into an oversized missile that goes right into Mystia. I can only watch in horror as she spirals out of the air and crashes into the ground.

It all happened in less than five seconds. I'm stunned by the suddenness of it.

"Oh shit! Mystia!" She only responds with a weak moan. She did not move…

**She sleeps now. **Arcane calmly states.

"NO! Damn it all!"_ She's passed out. I tried to warn you; I tried! I'm sorry. I'm so sorry._

"HA HA HA!" The oni gave a hearty laugh at his successful hit. "Now it's just you and me you little coward. Get ready to die."

I whirl around face him; he's only a few of his sized steps away from me now. He was breathing heavily; he had to be worn out. But… this guy looks like a god of muscles. After taking nearly a whole minute of solid fire, his bare chest doesn't have a single scratch. I don't know if I can beat him.

_Oh man… It's just me now… _My nervous mind echoes.

**Indeed. Now that the girl has moved aside, you have the opportunity to punish him yourself.**

Hearing Arcane talk about Mystia getting beaten so casually made me a little mad, but he was right. If I wait for her to wake up I won't make it. I said I would help; now it's my turn to live up to it.

_Ok… No more tricks for me? No other weird voodoo you pumped into me? Any last second stuff I need to know?_

**I am not your teacher. You know your abilities, now use them. It is time you played your part properly my servant. Now kill this animal. Strike him down!**

_Alright, here goes nothing!_

With a short grunt, I run at the demon, ready to strike with my katana.

"HRAAA!" The oni lunges at me, tearing at the ground with his knuckles as his punch flies past me. I narrowly dive out of the way; dodging his massive arm is not easy.

The brute wastes no time in bringing a punch down with his other hand. Rather than evade this time, I try to land my own attack. Ducking under his arm, I drive the narrow blade into his biceps. What I hear, however, is not flesh being cut. A distinct splintering sound rings out instead.

I pause for a moment. _Is this guy made of glass? He sounds like glass cracking when I hit him._

**Magic seeks the strong. It clings to them like invisible armor. It is a trait of many powerful residents. You must break him down before he can be made to suffer.**

_So that's why he isn't hurt yet. He's got a damn shield! Well he can't last too much long-ARGH!_

The oni quickly twists his body for a straight punch that smashes me in the chest. The weight of the strike sends me flying backwards into the air. I hit the ground hard when I land.

It's the first time I've actually been hit since I got here, and I'm not used to pain. My entire body is sore from the massive shock…

"Gah! Ah…argh!" _That really stings! I thought you said magic was like armor! Don't I have magic or something?_

**I told you, your magic has no form. It will not protect you by itself unless you will it into a spell. Be warned: you are not as resilient as they.**

_Tactical approaches then… I can do that I think._

I stand up. My attacker is slowly walking towards me, confident in his power over me. He's some distance away thanks to his punch so I have a little time to think out a strategy. When I begin to advance again, I step a bit more cautiously.

"Take THIS!" The oni comes in for a low sweeping punch. Rather than charge in for an attack I retreat. He keeps swinging, and I keep retreating. I make sure to keep a reasonable space to avoid his attacks.

With each miss his anger grows, until he can no longer stand it.

"Grr… Just… STOP MOVING ALREADY!" In a fit of frustration he brings both hands together and slams them into the ground, generating a destructive shockwave. Unfortunately for him, it's still not very accurate.

_Now I got you. _I take a step forward and hoist myself up on his buried hands, over his shoulders, and grab onto the spikes on his back. With my sword now poised at the back of his head, I attempt to break his magic barrier with repeated stabs.

_Come on! Break… break… BREAK! _ The cracking of the barrier grows louder and louder until a shatter is heard. The barrier cannot withstand any more damage and explodes away from the oni in a sudden bright wave of energy.

**Yes… now impart death. **

In that instant the trapped oni pulls himself free, forcing me down his back as he stands. I drag my blade down his spine as I slide off, spilling thick black blood over his back.

As soon as I land behind him he spins around into another strike; his wild maneuver is predictable and easy to dodge. Now off balance from his spin, I take the opportunity to bring in an attack.

"Just die already!" I angrily shout as my flurry tears at the tough muscles, marring his torso and legs with multiple slashes.

The bleeding oni steps back. The open wounds on his body confirms my attack as effective.

"Nnngh… I'll grind you into DUST!" He sprints at me, ducking down into a mad bull rush. I concentrate on his wild movements; my sword cackles with energy as I prepare a powered strike.

_Time to go down big guy. _I strafe to the side to avoid the stampeding giant. His forward momentum and the energy in my sword forces my blade all the way through his thick side. The oni collapses to the ground in a fountain of black liquid.

Slowly I watch the oni carefully for any movement. _ Come on… stay down. Don't get up. Please don't get up._

Of course, isn't finished. He slowly looks up at me. His twisted scowl is stained with his own blood.

"You're pretty handy with that sword of yours… Got me pretty good with that last one…" He gasps for breath with each sentence. The wound in his side continues to ooze blood.

"You done yet?" I ask. I'm more than eager to be done with this.

He grins evilly. "Not yet!" With a roar he jumps back up; ready to fight again. I charge my sword again, ready for whatever he may do.

"Deadly Toxin: Poisonous Moth's Dance in the Dark!"

The voice came from neither me nor him. It came from a now awake Mystia. The singing tone in her voice was gone. What came instead was the screeching of a very angry bird youkai.

I look over at Mystia just in time to see her spell card be used… _What the hell are those things?_

Several large winged bugs surrounded Mystia. The silvery wings shone under the morning light, making it look like some kind of light show. Following Mystia's gesture, the swarm of moths set forth. The beating of their wings sprinkles poison spores as they approach the wounded oni.

Unsure of how to handle this kind of attack, He throws a punch through the swarm. This only scatters the moths, which home in on him afterwards. The moths passively flutter about him, sprinkling toxin over his exposed wounds and face.

"Gah! Uh!" He chokes. Venom racks his body, and he falls to the ground in a poison induced seizure.

"That'll teach you to throw rocks at birds you brute." Mystia coldly states.

After struggling for a few second, the oni stops moving. His body is paler, and his wounds hiss with disease. The moth's then burst into nothing, leaving him alone on the ground.

At first, it seemed like he is only passed out, but he suddenly burns away to ash, leaving nothing behind but a black smear.

**An eternity in the burning hells awaits him.**

_Holy shit… she really messed him up with that. I think were done now. _Seeing a guy, even this monster, poisoned to death is quite scary.

I walk away from the remains and over to Mystia. "Thanks for the save."

**Hmph! Meddling girl! You should have killed him yourself. Still… You did quite well. You have begun to control your power. Now you would do well to rest, your strength will recover sooner if you do.**

_Yeah… rest is good._

The disheveled Mystia takes a seat on the dirt, sighing in relief at our victory. "Whew."

I send the sword back and take a seat next to her. "Man… What a beast. A real badass! I can't believe we beat him." I wipe the sweat from my head.

_I'm not exactly thrilled about him getting killed like that, but that psychopath really needed to go._

"Yeah. He was a bit tougher than I thought. Definitely a good stretch though." Mystia stretches her arms while she says this.

_Did I just hear that right? She still considers this a just an exercise! _"How the are you not tired? Or hurt? You got hit with a hammer! A hammer!"

"What? He just gave me a little knock is all. I only used two spell cards." She laughs.

_I guess she has that barrier thing saved her. Glad she's ok at least._

"You were pretty good yourself. I saw how you used that sword you summoned. And you got that beam attack that stunned him too. Just what kind of youkai are you anyways?"

**Do not speak of my existence. It will not end favorably.**

_Yeah. Saying I'm some dark magic… thing thats possessed by an ancient god of pain would be a good way to lose friends. Let's see… well…_

"I don't know."

She tilts her head. "Don't know?"

"No. I don't remember much, only that I have some strange powers. I have no idea what's going on or what Gensokyo even is. I'm going to Reimu because someone I ran into says she knows what's what around here." _It's not a total lie at least._

"Oh, I had no idea you were... I'm sorry to hear that. But your right, Reimu has a lot of friends who might be able to figure out what you are, and maybe even help you fit in. You should see her right away."

_That's great, but I'm not here to fit in. I'm here to get rid of this thing inside my head. I just wonder what his plan is. Why does he help me try to stop himself? I really need to figure this out before something bad happens!_

"Well, I really need to keep going. I don't want to waste any time until I figure this out." I get up

Mystia gets up as well. "Sure. How about I follow you to the shrine? It's still some walking distance from here."

I shake my head. "You don't have to. I owe you enough as is. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

"Umm… well, if you say so. I at least need to go to Misty Lake then. Let me just grab my cart and we'll finish our travel together."

With that, we return to the edge of the road. Mystia grabs her cart and we head down the path again, leaving the Road of Liminality altogether.

_Good god, what a monster though! It took everything I had in me to beat him, and that been with Mystia having done most of the work already! I hope they don't get any stronger than that. There's no way to top that guy… Is there?_

I look up at the morning sun. _All of this and I haven't even been here a full day…_

_Well, day one here I come._

* * *

_A/N_

_My second attempt at a battle sequence. This one has a bit of focus on Mystia fighting in addition to Knight, i really wanted to higlight the different elements of the Touhou games in my Gensokyo for this story while contrasting them to the dark power that Knight has. More importantly, i just hope this was a good action scene._

_Feel free to give reviews or comments. _

_Next chapter may take a bit, but i'll get it up soon._


	5. Unusual creatures

"Bye! Be sure to try my stand when you get some spare time ok?" Mystia calls out behind me.

"Sure thing. Thanks again."

I wave goodbye to Mystia as she turns down the side path towards the distant forest. The last few minutes after the battle were uneventful and passed quickly; we soon reached the path leading to the Forest.

With her destination near, we now part ways and I continue alone along the old road to the shrine.

Following her advice, I follow the wooden markers on the side of the road. She said it would still be long, but with it being day, I shouldn't have any trouble finding it.

I'm going to miss my traveling companion, but I'm looking forward to making progress today.

_Man, she was a true ally though. It's a good thing I ran into her. Having her with me has certainly made this easier. I hope the rest of my stay has friends like that._

**Do not let the ease of your quest thus far soften you. You are in a world of demons. The most docile beings can be killers in disguise. Even the night sparrow girl has had her share of violence. You must be prepared.**

I sigh. _Always the pessimist…_

Arcane's ire stings in my mind. **Do not chastise me servant. You would do well to heed my advice. Supernatural creatures may roam even during the day.**

_Even so it's hard to imagine running in to killer monsters on a regular basis. It just sounds so impossible._

**You have seen it already. Do not blind yourself.**

_Right, I'll be careful. We'll be up at the shrine soon enough. Then we'll figure out what to do from there._

**…**

With nothing to do, I keep a lookout on the fields for any movement. The grass is tall and dark, and the fields are dotted with trees. It would be easy to get ambushed here.

After a moment a shadow passes over me, and I instinctively look up.

_Whoa, what the heck?_

It's an empty late morning sky, save for the dot flying high above. Mystia had told me that many beings were capable of flight in Gensokyo. She said not to worry about youkai flying overhead because they usually are just trying to get from place to place.

It's nerve racking to have some supernatural monster flying above me, but I trust Mystia and ignore it. Sure enough, it passes.

After it leaves I let out a heavy sigh. "Man, I thought I might be getting used to weird stuff, but I just can't keep my cool. Everything about this place just puts you on edge."

"What's so weird about a tengu flying overhead?'

My heart skips a beat. I whirl around to face the voice.

A pair of eyes right in my face almost makes me fall over. I immediately step back to get a better view of the young woman floating in front of me.

She's surprisingly normal looking; white blouse, black miniskirt, and shoulder-length black hair. What distinguished her as a youkai were her black feathered wings. Where Mystia's short wings were cute, her long wings were much more intimidating.

She lazily hovers right in front of me, leaning in a bit too close as she examines me.

"Tengu fly all the time. It's not really big news. Nothing worth writing about at least."

_What? Writing?_ Another look at her and I notice she has a weathered old camera attached to a neck strap. In her other hand she has a bundle of newspapers.

_Is she like…a youkai journalist? _

She continues looking right into me with her large red eyes. "I've never seen a youkai like you before. Who are you?"

_Just be nice I guess. If she's just a news journalist then maybe she isn't dangerous. _"Knight. Pleased to meet you."

"Interesting name. So what are you doing out here?" She didn't bother introducing herself to me…

"I'm going to see Reimu. I-"

"Reimu? That sounds interesting. What are you doing with Reimu?" She leans a little closer to me.

"I just need to ask for help." I reply, trying to ignore her interruption.

"Oh? What kind of special _help _are you getting?" She anxiously fidgets with her camera.

"No, that's not-"I stutter.

"Maybe you _personally_ know Reimu? Oh, how could I have missed this? Youhavetotellme! Please? Justaquickinterview? Please? Afewpicturesmaybe?

She's talking faster and louder with each word. I can barely understand her now.

_What is with this girl? She isn't even listening to me!_

**Dismiss her; you do not have time to entertain this fool.**

_Yeah, this girl is a complete spaz._ I mentally agree.

I gently push myself away from her. "Look, I'm busy right now. Don't you have other papers to deliver or something?"

She stops and looks at the newspapers in her hand and sighs. "Yeah, you're right. I really do need to get these done…"

_Good. Just stay calm now…_

She glides away from me. "We'll talk later. I want an interview about you two as soon as I finish so don't run off until then."

"Uh… sure. Later then." I turn around to try and walk away, but she instantly appears in front of me again. _Huh? How did she do that?_

"Before you go, here's a copy of this week's Bunbunmaru news. Go on, take it." She quickly thrusts one of the papers into my face, forcing me to take it.

"Uhh...thanks?"

"Sure thing. See ya!" Her wings rise up as she prepares to takeoff. When she brings them down, she disappears. A great boom rings out in her wake.

_She's already gone? Damn, that was fast! _I have to strain my eyes to see the speck in sky.

**She is a crow tengu, an aerial master. Although such swiftness exceeds even their kind. There is a great power within her.**

_If she's so powerful, why didn't you warn me or something? What if she was dangerous? _I angrily thought.

**I told you to be alert. I will not protect you from your own idiocy. Now continue, you are almost there.**

Deciding it was best to just take it in stride, I move on.

I examine the paper in my hands while I walk…

"Bunbunmaru huh?" It wasn't really a good newspaper. There were a lot of pointless pictures with no details at all, and much of the actual writing was just gossip.

Still, I read it. Depictions of monsters, fairies, demons, spirits, magicians, and celestials were all so bizarre to me.

_Is this real? I can hardly believe all of this. This is Gensokyo?_

**This is the world you live in now. A world of fantasy and illusions. They have tried to shield themselves from misery of the outside with magic. With you, I will show them how hopeless their efforts really are.**

I cringe. Being reminded that I'm the antithesis of the world hurts a little.

_I'm still in control though, for now at least. I still have a chance to stop this._

Resolved again, I stuff the paper into my back pocket and increase my pace. In the far distance I can make out a large gate leading to stone stairs.

_The shrine! Finally! Wait… what the hell is that?_

Slowly moving this way was a ball of solid black. That's it, just black. It looked like some kind of hole in my vision.

_Is it an enemy? It's coming right at me, but it's not fast at all. Maybe it's just some kind of weirdo like that winged girl._

I stand tensed as the ball moves closer. _If I fight for no reason it might get mad. Maybe if I'm patient I'll be ok._

I decide on the non-violent approach and make no sudden movements. After a minute it collides with me, enveloping me entirely. I can't see inside it.

Something soft hugs my chest, followed by a weak gnawing sensation in my shoulder.

"Ah! W-what the hell?" Afraid of what horror might be on me, I frantically shake off the clinging creature and step out of the darkness.

Once I do the darkness fades away, revealing a girl floating over the path. She was a young blond, not even a teenager by my guess. Her matching shirt and skirt was as black as the darkness she just emerged from. For some reason her arms were outstretched, making her into a 'T' Shape.

She remains hovering in place. She looks upset.

"Aww… I thought you were human… I wanted to eat something…" She pouts.

_Everyone else has taken me for a youkai thus far. How can I be a human to her? _"Don't I look like a youkai? I thought the dark red eyes were a giveaway."

She casually dismisses the matter. "Sorry. It's easy to mistake normal looking youkai for humans in the dark."

_So she regularly blinds herself? Yeah… This is going to turn out to be another weird youkai._

**No… there is… something different about this girl. Look towards her hair.**

In her short messy hair I see a little red ribbon. _What's so odd about that?_

**It is a seal. A powerful one. I do not know what this girl is, but she has an unfathomable power locked inside her. **Arcane sounds bothered, which is a little worrisome. He's never been bothered about anything yet.

_What! Are you serious? What do I do then?_

**Leave her. You do not want to risk conflict with her.**

The girl tilts her head to the side. "Why are you staring?"

"Just spacing out. Sorry." _I need to pay more attention when talking with him…_

"Oh… Hey, do you want to play for a bit? It gets so boring out here." She suddenly asks.

I shake my head. "I'm busy. I really need to go to the shrine." _I don't want to risk opening up whatever's inside her._

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. I need to get going." I reply

She does not move out of my way. My answer didn't seem to satisfy her.

_This isn't working…_

I try to offer a solution. "Maybe if I get free time again we can. I really am busy right now though."

She nods and smiles. "Ok! I'll come find you later. What's your name friend?"

_Friends already? _"Knight…" I hesitantly reply.

"I'm Rumia! Let's play later ok? I'll be waiting for you!" She moves off the path, clearing my way.

I start to walk past her. "Yeah, sure. Later then" _There we go. That seemed to help._

She waves goodbye as I pass. "Bye then. Don't forget."

I wave back just as she sinks back into an orb of blackness. Rumia then flies off aimlessly towards the fields.

With her gone, I resume walking towards the shrine.

"Ugh… this place! Just trying to walk out here is killing my nerves." I mutter to myself

There's only a short ways to the shrine stairs ahead. _Please don't let there be anyone else out here. I really don't want another interruption._

**I sense no one.**

_Good! Let's see what kind of help this Reimu person can offer me._

I leave the tall fields behind me and approach the shrine stairs. I don't know what I'm going to do when I meet Reimu, but I'm sure I'll be able get a clue as to how to free myself from Arcane's influence.

At least I hope I will…

* * *

A/N

Thank you for reading my next chapter.

I originally thought about skipping some of this and moving the story on to Knight arriving at the shrine, but it just seemed to odd without an intermission of some sort. I hope this didn't come off as too boring or forced.

The next chapter will not be ready for a while because I will be gone, but i'll upload it when I get back. Thanks again for reading.


	6. Witch

I wipe the sweat off of my head as I reach the top of the stairs. The midday sun was punishingly hot, and the stairs to the shrine offered no shade.

It took a while, but I've finally reached the shrine.

_Just how high did I… oh wow._

I had climbed quite a ways up. I felt like I could see everything from up here. Fields, forests, and roads stretched out before me. It was like looking at a realistic map of the world.

_Reimu must enjoy a nice view from up here._

**It is perhaps one of the few things she would enjoy here.**

That caught my attention. _Few? What's so bad about… this… place?_

As I turn around I am greeted with a sorry sight. The shrine itself. An extremely worn down Shinto at the other end of a stone path.

"Damn…" I mutter in shock as I cross the dusty grounds.

The shrine in front of me was almost in ruins. The large pillars in the front are completely rotted through. The supports beneath the shrine were cracked and chipped in several spots and the roof on top was covered in patchwork repair jobs. As I draw closer, I can see the walls themselves are battered as well.

I step up the half-broken step onto the shrine. Once in front I see a small box with 'Donations' written on it.

_Empty… What happened to this place? Doesn't anyone pay respects or something?_

**The faithful have long since departed. Now, only a few can claim themselves to be truly righteous.**

_No one even cares anymore? Are you sure?_

**Do not doubt my knowledge. There is no hope here.**

I'm saddened to hear this, but I don't let it stop me.

I step past the box and walk around the shrine. The wood floor creaks under my steps as I turn the corner to the right side of the building.

I run my hands along the wall as I continue along. The smooth walls are marred with scratches and cracks. It looks like it's been in a war.

From this side, I can see a separate storage building that looks even worse off. A piece of the broken roof almost blocks the storeroom's door.

_How could anyone live here? This place is a wreck…_

I turn the corner to the back. On this side I can see a few Japanese cherry blossom trees, but they are almost bare; most likely burned away by the hot sun.

_I bet it would be great to see these in bloom. They just look sad now._

I see sliding doors on the back wall that lead to what looks like a living area. They are open.

_I guess someone is here… I wonder what kind of person Reimu is to want live here? I hope coming here isn't some kind of mistake. Both Komachi and Mystia told me to come here, but after seeing this place I don't know…_

I hesitantly step before the open doorway. "Hello? Anyone here?"

Sitting inside was a teenage girl with the most bizarre outfit. She had a white apron on top of a black frilled dress. Her long wavy hair was topped with a tall black wizard's hat. Her eyes do not look like a youkai's but still seem to be alive with an inner fire. I can't tell whether she's dangerous or friendly.

She looks up at me. "Hey there. What's up?"

_She looks like she lives here. Is this really her? _"Uhh, Reimu?"

"Nope. She's out today." She casually replies.

_Out? I hadn't planned on her not being here. At least I know for sure someone does actually live here._

"Do you know when she might be back? I really need to see her." I ask.

"She'll be gone all day. It'll have to wait until tonight. Sorry-ze."

_Ze? I'm just going to try to ignore that… _

"It's really important. Do you think she would mind if I waited here for her?" I politely ask.

"Not at all. Take a seat." She points to the mat opposite of her.

"Umm, I'll wait out here, thanks though." I would feel uncomfortable sitting in someone else's home before I've even met them. I'm not entirely sure I can trust this girl yet either, she could be anyone for all I know.

I step away and take a seat on the edge of the shrine.

Once I do, the girl inside hurriedly gets up and moves to take a seat right next to me. Once seated, she just stares at me.

_Uhh… okay then? _"Is everything alright?"

She smiles a little. "Those are some crazy eyes you got. I don't think I've ever seen a youkai with swirling eyes like that."

"Yeah, I guess it is a little different. I try not to think about it too much." For some reason, I find it a lot easier to understand her. I feel more at ease talking with her.

"So why are you here anyways-ze? Stirring up trouble?" She says half-jokingly.

I shake my head. "No. I need her help with something."

This piques her curiosity. "Help? With what?"

I hesitate for a moment. _Should I try to tell her? Maybe she can help me a little._

**Do not forget my warning. Speaking of my presence will only bring you suffering.**

_I know, I know. _I brush aside Arcane's remark.

I take a deep breath as I prepare to begin my story.

"I'm an outsider. I was human but I died, and have somehow become some kind of magic being with strange powers. Everyone seems to think I'm some new species of youkai, but I don't know for sure what I am. I don't know much about Gensokyo. I don't even know my own name. I have amnesia and can't remember much, aside from a distinct memory of my death. As of right now, I go by Knight."

She plays with her hair as she thinks on what I said "Hmm… an outsider? And you have memory loss too? That must suck."

I sigh. "No, not really. It's more like weird than hard. Everything is just so foreign to me. I was told by an acquaintance that Reimu could help me figure out some things.

She giggles a little. "Reimu isn't exactly the expert at identifying new residents-ze. That's more of my area of expertise."

I'm a little surprised. "Really? Who are you anyways?"

A mischievous smile creeps across her face.

She jumps up and faces the open doors. With a quick gesture she magically calls a straw broom from inside into her hand. She then turns back around while skillfully twirling the broom, finishing with a dramatic pose.

"I'm Marisa Kirisame, the ordinary magician-da-ze!" she exclaims.

I'm at a loss.

_Ordinary? Is this girl for real? How can she lead up such a fancy introduction with such a simple title?_

**Do not be deceived. Her soul has been touched by many powerful forces over her life. The magic she wields far exceeds that of normal humans**

_She's a powerful human? I suppose she really doesn't look like any of the youkai I've met yet. I guess a mage would the knowledgeable type, so maybe she can help._

"Alright then Marisa, got any idea as to how you could help me?" I ask.

She lets the pose go and sits next to me again. "I dunno. I'll just wait 'till Reimu gets back and discuss it with her."

_Are you serious?_

"You mean to tell me that was all for show?" I say feeling a little let down.

Her only response is a sheepish smile. I can't help but chuckle a little myself. She's an odd girl, but she's just having fun. Her little joke lightens the mood in spite of the sad scenery.

After a moment I talk again.

"So why are you here? Do you live here or something?" I casually ask in attempt to pass some time.

"Me? Nah, I wanted to play for a bit because I was bored, but she left so I thought I'd just wait around." She explains to me.

_She was waiting inside when I got here. She must be a good friend of Reimu's if she's ok letting her stay in the shrine while she's gone._

_But there was something else she said… _ "I ran into someone earlier who said it gets boring too. What do you people do for fun around here?"

She shrugs. "just various games every now and then. Sometimes we also have spell card duels; although Reimu doesn't like dueling at the shrine very much."

"Wait wait wait… You fight for _fun_?" I'm completely stunned.

She nods. "Sure. Duels are always a good rush. Of course we don't hurt each other too badly though. I guess that's a little weird for you?"

"Sort of. I got attacked by wild youkai twice on my way here. The fights definitely weren't fun." I sigh a little thinking about that. I still regret having to kill them.

"Really? Who were they?" She asks.

I sigh again. "The first were these two youkai girls, I didn't know how to control my powers and I accidentally killed them. The second was a big oni guy. A girl I was traveling with, Mystia Lorelei, was helping me, but she got knocked out and I had to fight him alone. I was able to do so for a while, but then Mystia got back up and killed him off with a spell card."

"Wow. An oni huh? Not just anyone can stand up to one of them. I'm impressed." She says with a short chuckle.

I angrily stand up. "How can you be so indifferent? He died! Doesn't that bother you?"

She doesn't flinch. "It's not like youkai die permanently-ze. It's really no big deal… Are you ok?"

I don't reply. I just stand there dumbfounded.

**You seem confused.**

_I don't even know…_

**Of all the fickle things in this twisted world, death is the most difficult to understand. There are countless ways to escape death. Even the oni you encountered may be able to crawl back into the world of the living.**

_Just stop there. I get it. People don't always die when they are killed…_

**Do not let your past haunt you. No one will question your actions here. **He finishes.

"Hello? Knight? Are you there?" She called out to me.

I shake my head and sit down again. "Sorry, Marisa. This place is… just getting to me a little bit."

"No need to get angry at me." She says sounding just a little offended.

"Sorry." _I was a little rude there._

She shrugs. "You're probably just stressed out. Maybe a little danmaku practice would help blow off some steam? That's what I usually do when I get frustrated."

"I can't…" I flatly reply

She looks at me with disbelief "What? Why not? Danmaku is such a-"

I interrupt her "I mean I don't know any danmaku."

She gives me a confused look this time. "You said you've been in a few fights before though."

"My powers don't allow me to use danmaku. My attacks are different from everyone else's." I explain.

"Can you show me?"

I hesitate. "Uhh… show you? I suppose I could try doing something…"

"No, not like that. In a duel." She adds.

I pause for a moment before replying. "Duel? You mean against you?"

She nods.

I'm a taken aback by the bold suggestion. "Are you sure? I don't know if combat is really my strong suit."

She pats me on the shoulder. "You just had a run in with some bad people. It happens to a lot of newcomers. This'll be better."

"I don't know about that." I reply as I gently push her hand away.

She playfully shoves me back. "Oh come on-da-ze! Lighten up a little. This is Gensokyo. Try to enjoy yourself! Battles can be a real thrill if you actually try to enjoy it."

"I… I really don't know." I'm a little unsure of myself now.

She continues to press the issue during my hesitation.

"It'll help pass some time while we wait for Reimu. We might even learn more about what you are. Come on, let's do it! It'll be fun!" She continuously tries to encourage me for a while.

_I have to admit, her energy is really contagious. I just don't know if I'm ready to-_

**Accept.**

Arcane's simple demand interrupts my thoughts. _Accept? Why?_

**You are still weak. You have not summoned any new weapons, and you have only one, simple, spell. If you want to survive, you will have to develop your abilities through combat experience. The practice would serve you well.**

It bothers me a bit, but I feel he is right. I couldn't even win my last fight by myself. I need to get better.

"Ok, I'll duel you."

"Alright!" She cheers.

"Just for practice though. I'm still learning how to control my abilities."

She grins mischievously. "Alright, sure. I'll go easy on you. Just don't think I'm going to let you win."

_Great… I won't be surprised if she goes all-out on me. This is probably going to hurt.  
_

"Well, where do we start?" I ask with a little less enthusiasm.

"Over here, this side has more space-ze." She points over to the empty area with the storage room in the corner. I do remember it being pretty spacious over there.

Marisa grabs her broom and motions for me to follow her. Together we walk over to the middle of the dirt square. She then turns to face me.

I stand just a few steps away from her. It makes me nervous to have to look right at a person I'm about to challenge to a fight. Her cocky smile does little to help me either.

_I wonder how this is going to work. Do we just go at it until the other person gives up? I don't want to accidentally hurt her with my blade or something._

"Are there any rules?" I ask.

"I hadn't thought of that yet…" She hesitantly admits.

_Hmmm…_

"Let's say falling to the ground is a point. The first person to knock down their opponent three times wins?" _There. That way it's not just a fight into the other person passes out. Judging by her cocky attitude, I doubt Marisa would give up so easily._

She laughs for a second before replying. "Just like a game then? Ok, first to knock the other down three times wins."

I nod. "Agreed. Ready then?"

She nods. "Ready-ze."

**This is a test. Show me how well you can use the power I have given you. Do not disappoint me, my servant.**

_Alright. Let's see what I can really do here. _I try to talk myself up.

The air buzzes for a moment as magic gathers around Marisa into an invisible barrier. She grips her broom with both hands; I tense up in preparation for her first move.

**As a natural magician, her magical resistance will be quite strong. Prepare yourself for a difficult battle.**

_Geez… But it's just a game. All I have to do is knock her down a few times; no need to really hurt her. I just hope I stand a chance._

She begins a countdown. "Three… Two…"

_I still can't believe I just I talked myself into a war game with a witch. This is crazy, but… she said this was fun right? Maybe I should learn from her like I learned from Mystia?  
_

"One…" She continues.

_Just like a game… Heh. Alrighty then, Knight versus Marisa. Round one…_

She finishes her count at the same time I finish my thought. My calm voice and her tomboyish voice speak the last word in unison.

"Fight!"

* * *

A/N

Thank you for reading my latest chapter, I hope you enjoyed it.

I was extremely nervous while writing this chapter, I spent nearly five straight hours reviewing and revising it after I finished the normal checks and edits. One of the things I worry about in my writing is how I portray popular characters. For the story, I intend to be a little different in my interpretations of characters and memes, and I really worry It might not be any good.

I would really appreciate any reviews on this chapter. I would like to know if I got off to a good start with Marisa's introduction, and the story up to this point.

Thanks again for reading. The next chapter will be ready soon.


	7. Friendly Game

The game begins. Both me and Marisa react at the same time, splitting away from each other in preparation for the other's first move. In less than a minute we move from face to face, to on opposite edges of the square.

I take one last step back before I prepare. The katana sword swirls and materializes in my hand as I summon it from the dark space in my mind. I test my magic a little to see if I can make it work again, and after a few seconds, a faint heat on the tips of my fingers tells me I can.

Now armed, I begin to make my way towards my opponent.

Marisa does something a little strange as I start to move. She holds her broom straight out and spins right onto it, setting the shaft between her legs. The broom mysteriously holds her weight and she remains floating just above the ground.

The witch adjusts her pointed hat for a second before grabbing on to the broom handle like it was some sort of vehicle.

_A witch on a broom… well, she called herself ordinary. I guess she really meant it._

She continues to hold on with one hand while making a magical gesture with another. Her casting hand begins to glow with light as she prepares to fire danmaku.

**Ready your guard…**

_And get shot at again? To hell with that, I'm not going through that again. _I still remember the terror of wading through the deadly blasts of the youkai attacker when I first arrived. I was not going to wait for her to shoot first.

I bring my sword to my side and make a straight rush forward. My legs carry me much faster than I thought they would; it only takes me a couple of seconds to reach Marisa.

Marisa waits for me to get right in front of her before letting off a shot. A bright flare-like projectile flies right over me as I duck under her hand.

_Ha! So obvious. This is going to be easier than I thought. _I think to myself.

I quickly rise up, bringing my sword straight up with me. At this close, there is no way I can miss…

To my surprise, my blade strikes nothing. Marisa had already moved out of range. I take another few steps forward to keep up with her, but she moves even further away before I can even swing my sword again. She's a lot faster than I thought she would be.

Marisa rapidly shoots five more times in response to my advance; all of them aimed low at my legs. I realize then that they aren't just plain energy blasts. They're tiny stars, wreathed in colorful solar flames.

_Crap, this is gonna hurt!_

I quickly try to block the low flying danmaku. The first one bursts against my successful defense, but sends a terrible jolt up my arm. The surprisingly powerful impact throws me off balance and leaves me wide open. I take a step back at the last second in attempt to save myself, but it does not good. The remaining four shots all strike my right leg, causing me to fall down in pain.

Marisa earns the first point in our little game.

"Ah! Damn it! That burns!" I cry out.

The feeling of her danmaku breaking on my leg was like getting struck with a red-hot sledgehammer repeatedly. I lay on the ground rubbing my scorched ankle. I'm surprised it's not broken.

"Come on-da-ze. I wasn't even trying. You aren't that weak are you?" Marisa taunts me as she hovers over my head.

"Give me a break. I told you I'm still learning here." _More like trying to and failing at it._

"Whatever. Just don't think I'm going any easier than I already am. I play to win." I can vaguely hear her fly away. It seems I have a few seconds to myself.

_This girl is super competitive! Maybe challenging her to a game wasn't the-_

**You idiot of a servant! Why did you ignore my warning? **Arcane cuts off my thoughts with a sharp sting.

His scolding does not help my frustration.

_Did you not see that shot? How the fuck was I supposed to defend against that? She's shooting stars at me! She's way too strong!_

**She is. That is why it is a good opportunity to become stronger. You are simply being careless.**

I begin to rise up. _Fine, I'll give you that. But how am I supposed to even do anything against her? I won't pick up anything if I just get crushed._

**Your opponent outclasses you in all aspects. I have given you power, but you do not have complete control of it yet. You must not be reckless. Formulate a strategy.**

_Ok… let me think for a second. _

I carefully stand up, using my blade to boost me up. The blade still hisses slightly from the cosmic heat that was thrown at it.

"You done over there? You were down for almost a whole minute! You're making this really boring you know!" Marisa calls from behind.

I let out a heavy sigh. "That was the first time I've been hit by danmaku. I honestly wasn't ready for that." I blindly reply to her voice.

"Well, be ready this time. This next one's for real!" She calls again.

I spin around to face Marisa. She's quite far now. Getting within sword reach will be tricky.

_So it was a little easier to doge than to block, although I can block if I have to. I think if I take my time, I can get close enough to surprise her with a stun spell. She won't be able to dodge me then._

"Alright, here I come." I tighten my grip on my sword as I cautiously make my way towards Marisa.

Marisa aims her hand at me again, this time firing danmaku repeatedly. Various colored stars fly out of her palm and rain down on the landscape around me.

The shots are predictable from far away, and I dodge easily. However, as I get closer, I have to move even slower and defend more often. It's intimidating, but I keep my cool and advance through the magical volley.

_Just a little closer… and… now!_

I make a diving roll forward under Marisa's fire; I put a lot of trust into my reflexes by doing this…

I successfully complete the move without getting hit, bringing me just a step short of my target. I bring my sword into up again, but only to make a fake attack. I expect her to avoid melee out of habit, and she does not disappoint.

"Gotcha this time. Mysterious Tremor!" I throw out my hand, sending out a thin shaft of dark magic towards the magician.

As soon as she catches sight of my spell she twists the handle of her broom and expertly rolls over the spell.

_No…_

I can hardly believe my attack was so easily avoided. I'm completely stunned.

_No way! How did she see that coming? That was so close! I can't give up now! _

In an effort to salvage my attack, I rush forward to try and attack Marisa before she regains control.

Unfortunately, she recovers too quickly, and is more than ready for me. Before I can even react, she dives right at me and successfully lands an accurate kick right on the side of my head.

Her boot causes me to stumble backwards. Before I can even regain balance, an expertly aimed danmaku shot strikes my shoulder, sending even further back. I then lose completely lose balance.

The hot dirt rises up to slap me again. "Gah! Damn it all!"

"Ahahaha! Two points for me now! Your making this too easy-ze!" Marisa gloats over her second knockdown as she repositions herself at the other end of the shrine grounds again.

My vision blurs a little as I try to get up. I was tiring out already. I won't be able to cast again and stay standing…

**That was disappointing. You should have known that weak spell would not suffice against such a skilled foe.**

It takes everything I have not to scream at him. _What do I do then? I have no more magic and she's too fast for my sword. I can't get a single hit._

**Do you not remember? Your mind can forge dark magic into potent weapons. Give yourself the advantage.  
**

_But I don't even know how to do that yet. I don't even know where to begin._

**Nor do I. You must decide on the method yourself.**

_Are you kidding me?_

**No. Adapt or you will lose.**

_Arcane! At least give me something to work with. What do you mean it's something I decide on?_

**…**

_Argh! Do you enjoy tormenting me? Man… I have to figure out something, and fast._

I sit up and blink some of the sweat out of my eyes before closing them in concentration.

_Okay, I need to start with a basic design. Maybe a gun? Or would bringing a gun into a world of magic be a little too weird?_

"Uh, what are you doing? Are you giving up? Come on, get up! We still have a game to play!" Marisa sounds a little impatient.

_Screw it, no time to argue. Gun it is. Now then…_

I draw out a simple, self-defense handgun schematic in my mind. Surprisingly, I come up with a detailed image rather easily.

**Good, you have created a process. Now finish it. Give your creation form.**

I mentally invoke my magic from deep within, letting it fill the schematic like a mold. It only takes a short moment for the new weapon arrives inside my mental arsenal alongside my sword.

_I-It worked!_

I stand up and summon the gun. The cool metal trigger begins to replace the blade handle in my hands. I'm almost excited to see how it turned out.

_Wait… is this it? This is a bit different than what I expected!  
_

I'm shocked at what I see. The weapon in my hand was not the simple handgun I had thought of.

Instead, I held a bizarre looking hunting pistol. The long barrel and smooth grip was made from an unnatural crimson metal that give an ominous glare in the sunlight. It also seemed to be fitted with a small holographic sight; nothing like I've ever seen before.

To me, It looks like science and dark magic came together to make a modern firearm. My powers have completely corrupted the original design, making it more darker and more aggressive than before.

**I see it was good to have left your memories of the outside intact. You seem capable of some rather… interesting creations.**

I give the pistol another look. _Is this really something I can use?_

**Do not doubt your own skill. These tools are made from the depths of your own mind. You know them better than anyone else.**

I try to reply, but my thoughts are choked off by a familiar sickening sensation.

Twisted memories begin resurface just like when I first held the katana. Inhuman experience floods my subconscious again and again. I suddenly feel like I've used this pistol forever. I know it's accurate and reliable for any situation while still being small enough quick aiming and melee maneuvers. I feel eerily confident in my ability with it.

Following my instincts, I hold out my hand and channel a tiny bit of magic into my palm, causing a narrow stick of solid energy to appear in my hand. It churns and flickers like flames, but mysteriously holds its shape.

I'm a little impressed by it, even if it is just bullets.

_I guess I use magic as ammo. Weird, but kind of badass! Maybe this will be more effective than I initially thought!  
_

The blue fire fits right into the pistol just like a magazine. A short click indicates that the gun is loaded.

"Wow! That's a pretty cool thingy you have. Is that like a new spell? I like it! Very flashy!" Marisa has been staring in wonder the entire time, inching ever closer to get a better glimpse of the foreign device.

"Just a new trick. I guess a few whacks did help me a little." I reply back.

Marisa chuckles a little. "See? I told you this would be good for you. You learned something new!"

"Yeah… Well, let's see just how much I learned." I clasp the gun with both hands and point it at Marisa.

"Huh? Whoa!" She quickly flies back once she sees me take aim at her.

A loud gunshot rings out as I pull the trigger. The fiery bullet is only briefly visible as it flies with lightning speed, striking Marisa right in the chest and shattering against her invisible armor.

I fire again and again; the semi-automatic mechanism lets me send off a quick hail of bullets. Each shot cracks and chips Marisa's barrier. The shield absorbs the damage, but she still feels some of the force, causing her to wince.

After a few seconds of solid shooting, the gun makes a hollow click._ What was that now… twenty shots I think? Better keep that in mind for when I need to reload._

I flick the switch to eject the magazine; or what was left of it at least. All that comes out is a bit of heat from the leftover magic.

I conjure more energy bullets and load the gun again, but as I do so I can feel my mind spin a little.

_Whoa… what was that?_

**Creating more missiles for a ranged weapon uses your powers. You can still exhaust yourself doing this, just like with magic. You are not at full strength today either. Aim well.**

"Ha… Is that it? That didn't even hurt!" Marisa boasts while taking aim at me again.

_Ok, so I don't have enough power to totally defeat her. But I can still force her into the defensive with this. Maybe I can still win if I can get close enough to hit her. She's not that far… I just need to keep her off balance.  
_

_I think I can do this__…_  


"Take this!" I reload the pistol and raise it towards Marisa again.

I rush forward while firing the pistol, making sure to duck under Marisa's danmaku. Stars and bullets race back and forth as we exchange attacks. The late afternoon sky fills with the sound of noisy gunfire and magical buzzes.

I've gotten a little better at predicting her danmaku. I continue to land hits against her while she continues to miss me.

"Nnnngh!" Marisa growls in frustration. I'm starting to get to her.

As I get closer, the impacts increase in power. Her attacks become distracted by the pain, and she begins to hesitate. Her hesitation gives me an advantage.

I fire my last shot right before I reach Marisa. She has not paid any attention to how close I am. I could easily grab her now, and I do so instantly.

I roughly snatch her shoulder to hold her and strike at her back with my pistol, bearing into her with full force of my arm.

_Gotcha. One point._

Marisa grunts as she rolls into the ground. "Oof! Ow!"

I can't help but smile a little. "My point this time. That was for the kick earlier by the way."

"Hey, that wasn't fair. You shot me while I wasn't ready-ze!" She points out.

"I thought you said it didn't hurt." I flatly reply.

She has no comeback.

"Come on now, we have a game to finish." I offer my hand to help her up, but she politely declines and rises by herself.

I take a step back and reload my gun while she gets back onto her broom. She rises up a lot higher than last time. She's well out of my melee reach now.

_Here we go again… Wait, what the hell are those? Some kind of floating orb?_

Rather than go back to shooting, Marisa makes a waving gesture with her hands, creating two bluish orbs at each side of her.

Holding her broom with her legs, she grabs an orb into each hand and points them at me.

_She's really going at me this time._

They glow brightly before sending out a beam of energy. I only barely jump back in time to avoid getting struck by the piercing blast. The ground hisses with intense heat of the strike.

The orbs dim after their power is spent. It seems like they have to recharge between shots.

_That was close. I need to find some way to get her down from there. I don't know if gunfire alone is going to do the trick this time._

I take a few steps back and aim my gun. I hold the top of the barrel under my right eye and look down the sight.

_I better fire back though, or she's going to fry me with that double laser._

Looking down the tiny glowing crosshair makes it much easier to aim at the distant witch. She twists her broom to try and move herself out of my gunfire. Although a few shots fly past her, my bullets are much faster than her and a majority of them still hit.

However, she only barely flinches at the hits. At this range, the force she feels is much weaker. My gun clicks empty, and I can see almost no sign of progress against her.

"I think… this is bad." I say to myself.

The orbs begin to glow again, and another pair of beams flies at me. She follows me with the lasers as I try to run away from it. A beam grazes against my back just before it fades out, lightly scorching my back.

"Whoa! hey, that was a little too intense there!" I call out.

She gives a short chuckle in response. She shows no sign of letting up.

_Shit… that was too close… Way too close! Is she even playing anymore?_

I reload again. My vision blurs dangerously and my head feels like it is floating off my body. I have to stop and catch myself so I don't fall.

I close my eyes to think. _Ugh… I think… I think this is my last one. I feel like I'm going to turn to jelly if I have to reload again. I can't really do much from down here; I need some way to get her down so I can use the sword again._

I let my head rest for just a second more before I open my eyes. I have given Marisa an obvious advantage, so I had expected her to fire her lasers at me again while I stood still.

What I see instead is her flying right at me.

_What is she doing?_ I tense up in preparation for her rush._  
_

My gun melts away and the sword reappears. My weapon swap isn't even noticed by Marisa who, for some reason, has decided to try and ram me.

I step aside while simultaneously bringing the sword into a wide slash. Marisa spirals out of control when she slams into my blade.

She violently smashes into the ground and her broom ricochets and clatters away into the distance. She groans in pain on the dirt once she lands.

I just stand there confused. _What the hell? Why did she try to ram me? She had two different danmaku types she could have used._

**Hmmm… she appears to have thought you were disabled, and tried to finish you off with a swift melee attack. **Arcane muses.

_What? Why? Do I really look that beat up?_

**No, it is something else entirely. However, that is not important right now. You are almost finished. You need only-**

"Oooohhhh nooooooo! I can't believe this!" Marisa's anguished cry interrupts both our thoughts.

Marisa had already gotten up, and was now crouched over by the ruined storeroom in the corner. Since she obviously wasn't fretting over losing another point to me, I was a little concerned.

I walk over to Marisa, but keep the sword in my hand in case she tries to trick me.

As I walk up, she slowly turns around. In each hand was a half of her broom. The broom must have crashed into the side of the building and split apart after she fell.

"This… was… my only one!_" I_ can see her hands almost trembling at the loss of her treasure.

I begin to apologize. "Marisa. I'm-"

She angrily throws the two halves at the ground. "You did that on purpose didn't you?"

_Oh crap…_

She menacingly points at me. "You tricked me again! First you act weak to get me feeling sorry for you before you blast me with that metal thing. And then, when that doesn't work, you pretend to be all tired and hurt to throw me off guard! Ugh! I can't believe I fell for this!"

I was tempted to remind her that she never really felt sorry for me to begin with and that I actually was getting tired, but she doesn't appear to be in a talking mood anymore.

"I bet this whole game thing was just to toy with me wasn't it? I bet it was-ze! You're so horrible!" She continues to shout at me. She was getting more and more carried away with her accusations.

I try to interrupt her. "Marisa! Stop! I'm sorry, I had no idea this would happen. Just calm down!"

She lowers her hand and reaches into a pocket.

She smiles evilly. "You know, I do think I know what to classify you as now Knight."

She pulls out a metal trinket and points it's top face me.

"Marisa… please listen." I ask while slowly stepping away.

She ignores me, and proceeds to materialize a paper card.

"You are what I refer to as… _target practice!"_

My heart almost stops. I can barely keep my panicked thoughts together.

_Oh man… a spell card! She's going to fucking kill me! Arcane! What do I do here?_

**…**

_ARCANE! Don't you dare leave me!_

**Calm down fool. She has no killing intention about her. However, you will suffer some rather grievous injuries here.**

_But-_

**You were not experienced enough to win this duel to begin with. This was only a test to see how long you would last. This is only a taste of what you will experience here.  
**

I can't even comprehend his words. I feel completely betrayed. He convinced me to do this, knowing this would happen!

**And to answer your earlier question: yes. I do enjoy it.**

With that Arcane leaves me to face the witch's fury alone.

The device in her hand opens up and her card begins to activate.

"Love Sign: MASTER SPARK!"

I can't even respond. Not even a single twitch. I'm instantly engulfed in light. Magic blisters and bruises me from all sides for what seems like forever. I am surrounded by terrible agony.

Eventually, the punishment subsides.

We both stand facing each other in silence.

"Uh…ugh…" I weakly groan.

"I win." Marisa states in a matter-of-factly fashion.

My vision has been blurred by the painful light. I try to take a blind step forward, but I only fall to the ground. I'm too badly beaten to move.

I think Marisa is trying to say something to me, but I can't hear her clearly anymore. In fact, I can't hear or see anything right now. My senses dim, and I lose feeling to my body.

_I think__…__ I'm finished.  
_

Darkness slowly closes in on my mind. I close my eyes and let myself fade out.

_Ha ha__… so much__ for a__… friendly game. These Gensokyo people are__… nuts to think this is__… __fun! Crazy__…_ people!  


With that last thought, I give up and pass out. I lose all of my senses, and drift away into a forced sleep.

There is no telling how long I will be down.

But given how badly Marisa beat me, It's probably going to take a little while.

* * *

A/N

Thank you for reading my latest chapter. I hope you found this enjoyable. I'm still a little uncertain of my writing skill, so any critical feedback is appreciated.

Also, thanks to those who have been keeping up with me via favorites or alerts, it's a great motivation to see people liking my work.

Thanks again. The next chapter will be ready soon.


	8. The Next Move

I've lost all sense of time and direction. There's no telling where I am, or how long I have been passed out…

At least until I start to wake up anyways.

I slowly force my eyes open.

_Where… am I?_

I can see I am lying down on some kind of mat next to the wall of a small living area. The room is well lit by a pair of lanterns sitting on top of a low table. I can tell by the battered walls that I'm still at the shrine.

_Is this inside the shrine? How did I get in here? Did Marisa move me after she…_

I shudder a little bit. Marisa had almost killed me with that huge laser. I didn't stand a chance against such a powerful attack. She was really angry when I accidentally snapped her broom with an attack during our battle.

However, she does not appear to be here at the moment.

_I wonder where she went to any-ah!_

I try to rise from the cushion, but my entire body burns with pain as I do so. The pain is not enough to stop me from getting up, but it's pretty clear I still need more time to recover.

I fight against the pain walk over the middle of the room. I recognize the low table as the one Marisa was sitting at when I first met her.

_So this is inside the shrine. Then the door must be…_

I find the door and open it. Outside I see only darkness. It was night, and clouds were blocking any light possibly given from the moon.

_I can't see a thing out there. Maybe I should just wait inside for now._

I begin to close the door, but am interrupted by a voice.

"Hey! You're awake! Feeling any better?" It was Marisa's voice. It sounds like she's in a good mood.

I don't reply. I can't think of anything to say. Just a moment ago, she was burning with rage. Now, she sounds just as carefree as when I first met her.

"Uhh… You can still talk right?" Marisa's voice arises from the dark again. I attempt look for her through the open doorway, but I just can't see anything.

"Marisa, did you already forget he's an outsider? They don't just shrug off getting beaten as easily as us. He's probably still distraught over what happened."

The second voice wasn't Marisa's. It sounded like a woman's voice, but I did not recognize her.

"H-hello?" I call out.

"Hey! How goes it? Everything alright-ze?" Marisa's voice was a little closer now. They were walking this way.

"Uh, yeah. Sure. Just a little sore is all." _A lot sore actually._

"Good. I was afraid those old herbs might not work. It's been a little while since I've actually had to use them." The second voice replied. She sounds more serene than Marisa, but less energetic.

After a second, I can see the two girls begin to emerge from the shadows.

The first girl I recognize as Marisa, still dressed in her black witch outfit. The broom she carried is now held together by a bandage wrap. When her face comes into view, I can see her smiling at me like I'm an old friend.

The second is the one I did not recognize. She looks only a little older than Marisa, but that could be due to her more weathered appearance. Her brown-eyed gaze is darkened from an apparent lack of sleep.

But what caught my attention more was her strange, and tattered, outfit

Her red top is much too small for her and needs to be replaced. The shoulders and most of the side had been cut away from the shirt to make it easier to wear, but the holes exposed much of her side instead. The white detached sleeves she wore would make the outfit more conservative if they weren't so ripped themselves. Her long skirt was no better: covered in scuffs severely worn out.

The only thing that is still in good condition is a large puffy red ribbon that bound her long dark hair together.

But despite her ragged appearance, she looked to be in perfectly fine, just like Marisa. If she really does live this poor, it does not seem to be affecting her vitality in the slightest.

Her appearance does not affect her commanding presence either. She has an air of maturity that I haven't found in anyone else I've met. Even worn down, she still seems vastly superior.

It was still a little sad to see a priestess in such a state.

_She looks… deprived. I guess it's safe to assume this is who lives here. Reimu… What could have happened to this girl? Compared to Marisa, she looks like a total wreck. Her clothes really need to be replaced. Can she not afford new ones or something?  
_

**The pious suffers while the scoundrel prospers. It is poetic justice.**

I almost jump. I had forgotten about Arcane still being in my head. Luckily, Neither one of the girls notice my odd reaction.

_Stop popping up at random moments! You're distracting me._

**…**

The priestess walks right up to me, which makes me a bit nervous. But my nervousness is instantly stopped when she makes short bow.

"I apologize for my absence earlier; The youkai are being more troublesome than usual. I am Reimu Hakurei. Shrine maiden of the Hakurei Shrine." She formally introduces herself as the person I was looking for.

"Nice to meet you Ms. Hakurei." I politely reply.

Marisa chuckles slightly. "No need to get all formal here. We're all friends after all!"

_Someone's in a good mood. How can someone be so aggressive one moment, and then act like your best friend the next? Is Marisa really that quirky?_

"Marisa told me you're having some trouble? I think I may be able to offer a bit of help. Let's go back inside and discuss it over some tea. You shouldn't be trying to move around anyways." Reimu speaks casually again, but is still courteous.

_At least she isn't going to be formal or strict like I thought. Something to drink might be good too._

I agree with her suggestion and step back inside. The two close the door behind me as they enter.

Once inside, Reimu motions for me to take a seat at the low table. Marisa has already helped herself to a seat.

Once I sit down Reimu opens a door into a side room and disappears into it. The sounds of preparations begin to emerge from within.

I am alone with Marisa now…

_May as well try to say this…_

"Listen… I want you to know-"I try to speak before she stops me.

"I know what you're going to say-ze. Just don't worry about it. We both got a little carried away earlier. I know you didn't mean any harm." She calmly states.

Marisa correctly guesses my attempt to apologize for earlier today. I merely nod in confirmation.

"And sorry for using a spell card on you. I guess that was a little too much." She continues.

_I don't want to hold a grudge against her, she is a nice girl after all, but she beat the crap out of me for pretty much no reason. I don't think I'll ever be able to look at her in the same light. She's as crazy as everyone else here; she just controls it better. I have to be careful here, even around the nice ones._

_No reason not to forgive her though.  
_

"It's fine. No hard feelings. Like you said, we just got carried away. I just wish that 'getting carried away' didn't mean trying to blow your opponent to bits. Just try to be a little more careful next time, ok?" I finish with a wry smile.

She smiles a little, apparently glad for being able to let the whole thing go.

"Still, you were pretty good out there. I don't think I've ever seen anyone use weapons like that before, especially that really loud one. And that spell… thing… you tried to use on me was totally unlike any danmaku I've seen. You really are different!" She merrily states.

"I suppose…" I quietly reply. I don't care for being reminded of how badly I stand out.

"You should give your weapons names! It would sound cooler if you did!" Marisa excitedly adds.

I laugh a little. "I don't know. That sounds kind of cheesy." _Really, really cheesy._

"Oh come on-da-ze! I know tons of people who use names all the time! It helps give you more style! You had a name for your magic didn't you? Try thinking of one!"

_She isn't going to drop it is she? Geez… _

_May as well entertain her. _I focus and materialize the sword so I can get a better look at it while I try to think of something to call it. _I can't believe I'm going to do this…_

I think for a moment as I try to think of a significant naming convention for my weapons.

_Arcane gave me this sword when I first arrived in order to save me. He gave it to me… and the first thing I use it for is to kill someone… I would have never done something like that in my world. This sword made me into a killer… A monster…_

"Fiend. I'll call it that I guess." I state with a grimace.

"Fiend? That's… a little boring if you ask me." Marisa sounds a touch disappointed.

I sigh. "It's not a name I'm particularly fond of either. It's more significant than stylish."

"Ok. What's next then?" She still sounds a touch let down.

I materialize the gun next, sending the Fiend sword away.

_Accurate side arm. It was my lifeline during my recent duel with Marisa. It was made more to protect me than it was to hurt her, although my magic distorted it into something much more dangerous. Subverted purpose… hmm…  
_

"Deceiver." I decide it as the most appropriate name for now.

Marisa nods in agreement this time. "Yeah, that thing is a lot stronger than it looks. It really stings-ze."

I resist the urge to bang my head against the table. _It could have put a hole in you! I sometimes wonder if she even knows her own strength._

I calm down and send the Deceiver pistol away.

_I feel ridiculous for doing that, but if I'm going to be keeping track of these things then naming them may help me out later._

Marisa smiles again. "See? Now you have your own named weapons to go with your special magic! We'll make you into a Gensokyo regular before you know it!"

_Is naming your attacks really popular here or something?_

"Thanks… I guess. I'm just not comfortable with the whole fighting thing yet. I guess I do ok, I just don't like how messed up my powers are. Today was just one long reminder of how much I don't belong here." I say this aloud, but I'm mostly talking to myself.

_That and… well… I'm not a pacifist, but Arcane is a god of suffering who wants to manipulate me. He thrives off of struggles, so I want to fight only when I need to._

**It will be more often than you can comprehend, servant.**

I try my best to ignore his smug taunt. Thankfully, Reimu interrupts before I feel like I need to retaliate.

"Well. Hopefully we can set you in the right direction to solving that problem." She states in the same calm manner.

Reimu comes into the main room with a small tray of glasses. She sits down and passes out the three drinks. The glass she hands me is different from theirs; I hesitate a little before taking a little drink from it.

I instantly gag. "Ack! W-what is in this tea? It's bitter!"

Marisa laughs a little while Reimu explains. "The herbs I healed you with are made into the tea. Drink it, you'll feel better."

I nod before forcing myself to drink the brew. Now that I have a better idea of what it actually tastes like, I don't find it as terrible as before. Plus, I do feel less sore drinking it.

After a moment of quiet drinking, Reimu sets her glass down and talks. "From what Marisa told me earlier. I understand you're an outsider named Knight, and that you received strange powers when you died before somehow ending up here, right?"

I nod. "Yeah. Some people said you know how to help newcomers. I want to find someone who can help me understand my powers better, and maybe even help me control them."

_I don't know if that's really going to set me on the right track to getting rid of Arcane, but I suppose I'll have to start with knowledge if I want to get anywhere. I have to be measurable on some sort of scale here._

Reimu gives a long exasperated sigh. "Unfortunately, I don't really know what you are yet, at least not from what I can see in you. You don't regenerate wounds or use danmaku; very basic youkai traits. But you do use conjuring and some rather abnormal magic; both are something no ordinary being can do. It doesn't make sense."

Reimu takes another drink of her tea before continuing. "I think it might be safe to say that you aren't any kind of youkai. Since you aren't, you fall out of my area of expertise. A magician would be of more use to you than I would. I think Marisa knows a few that can help."

"Yeah! I know tons of people in Gensokyo-da-ze! I can show you who to look for!" The witch exclaims.

_Finally, we're getting somewhere!_

Reimu takes another sip. "A magician is what he needs; a talented one… Perhaps Ali-"

"Not her." Marisa is suddenly sober and serious.

Reimu does not flinch at the outburst. "You know she is a lot easier to find compared-"

"No way-ze. If you're going to involve _her _than I don't want anything to do with this." Marisa is clearly angry now.

Reimu opens her mouth to speak, but Marisa stands up as if threatening to walk out should she even say one word.

_What the hell just happened? They went from friends to fighting in less than a minute!._

"Girls, please! If this, uh, person isn't available then let's try someone else. Surely there is more than one person you know, right Marisa?" I quickly try to diffuse the situation.

Reimu and Marisa stare at each other for a few seconds before Reimu gives up with a heavy sigh.

"Fine." Reimu turns back to her tea. Marisa sits and does the same, but still doesn't seem to be in a good mood.

I take one final swig to finish off my bitter drink.

_I obviously just missed something important. Who could make Marisa so upset so easily? I'll have to ask later if I get a chance._

There is an awkward silence before Marisa speaks. "What about Patch? She's got a whole library of magical stuff. If she doesn't have a book on this kind of ability, she probably has enough reference materials to figure it out anyways-ze."

_Books? Books are always a good start. Maybe I can learn a little bit more about Gensokyo along the way._

"That sounds like a plan to me. Why don't we try that? No problems right?" I hope for no outbursts this time.

Reimu gives me a serious glare. "The only real problem with that is that she is one of the most difficult people in all of Gensokyo. In addition to being the confidant of a _very _dangerous person, she is a complete shut-in and is also one of the most disagreeable persons you'll ever meet. There are absolutely no guarantees with her."

_Oh…_

She continues. "But, since Marisa thinks it's the best idea, and since you seem so eager to get started, you should go find her; she is the only real chance you have. I hope won't mind a couple of fights along the way."

**Your road will be full madness and strife.**

_So basically, the hardest possible route… damn it._

I can't help but give a heavy sigh. "Fine… just show me the where to go."

Reimu shakes her head. "Not right now. It's too dark. I'll show you in the morning. In the meantime, I'm going to make more tea. Would you like my normal tea this time?"

I nod. _The medicine tea wasn't actually that bad. I bet the real stuff is really good._

"Marisa? Tea?" She asks to the witch.

Marisa slowly stands up. "No thanks. I… I think I'm going to go check on the shop. I'll see you later ok?"

She gives a short wave goodbye before quietly disappearing into the night.

Reimu begins to go back to the side room, but I stop her before she leaves.

"Reimu, wait. I want to ask something." _I really want to know about what happened here._

Reimu sighs and sits back down at the table. "I'm sure you're wondering. Alice Margatroid is her name."

_Margatroid… Did I hear that before? _ "Who is she? Why does Marisa not talk about her?"

Reimu begins to explain. "She's a youkai magician. Youkai magicians give up humanity for magical powers. They are usually very strong, and knowledgeable in strange things. Alice actually wrote a whole book on magic once. She would probably be able to help you, if Marisa was willing to introduce you to her. Other than the rare appearance, she is hard to find without help."

_Margatroid, Margatroid, Margatroid... Oh yeah! I remember now!_

I reach into my back pocket and pull out the small crumpled newspaper. I flip through the articles and pictures as I look for a familiar name.

Reimu seems to recognize the paper. "Oh, I see you met Aya. I hope she wasn't too much of a pest."

_Crazy fast, hyperactive, news journalist? How can she not be annoying?_

"She wasn't too bad, but she did gave me this paper to go through. I think I've seen Alice in here somewhere." I continue to turn the pages.

After a moment of flipping through I find a labeled picture of Alice.

Reimu points to Alice's picture. "That's her."

The harsh shadow and monochrome palette makes seeing Alice in this picture almost impossible. Only the silhouette of a slender girl can be seen.

I set the paper down on the table. "What is it about her that got Marisa so upset? Marisa doesn't seem like the kind of person to make enemies."

"Usually, she isn't. They actually used to be good friends. One day, Marisa stopped going to visit her. When I asked about it, she just said she didn't want to talk about her. Now, anytime I try to force her to bring it up, she gets angry." Reimu frowns. "I'm sorry, I really don't know much about it. You'd have to ask Alice herself. "

**This is none of our business… You should avoid this magician.  
**

_I hate to agree with you, but I think you're right. I don't want to go looking for trouble. Let's stop curiosity before it kills the cat. _"I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you can work it out with her."

Reimu gives an affirmative nod. "I will. But for now… How about more tea or maybe something to eat? You have a lot of travelling to do tomorrow, and you should relax while you can."

"Just tea. I'm not hungry actually. I'm actually not sure If I can get hungry at all. My powers are... a little weird sometimes." I reply.

Reimu shrugs. Apparently that isn't so weird for her.

She disappears for a few moments before returning with a drink for me, and a drink and plate of snacks for her.

We make small talk for the rest of the night. Me and Reimu talk about Gensokyo and its people. I listen to her as she tells me about a few odd stories while we each enjoy our drinks.

Her kindness combined with the coziness of the small interior made it easy to relax. It's the only time since I got here since I really felt at ease.

Soon, we finish our tea and finish up for the night. Reimu offers for me to use the spare cushions to sleep, but I decline; I don't feel tired… at all.

Reimu merely shrugs again. She briefly cleans up and douses the lanterns before going to her bed to sleep.

I decide to take a seat at the table by myself and think on my first day here. My thoughts are troubled by my strange encounters, bizarre powers, and new goals. I feel like my world is just getting crazier and crazier. I fear it's even starting to get to me.

_I wonder if I'm going to go crazy in this place… I wonder if I'm going to die in this place…_

I shake my head. _No… I still know what I'm doing. Just follow directions, keep my cool, and don't be afraid. I can do this._

**Magnificent things you will do.**

I shudder a little. The strange being inside my mind is a constant warning of how very uncertain my situation is.

_There's no telling what's going to happen to me. I have to keep moving on every chance I get. As soon as Reimu wakes up, I'll be on my way. I have to find a way out of this mess…_

Being unable to sleep and unable to leave. I continue to sit at the table and pass the night with my own thoughts, always returning to the same conclusion.

_I have to get rid of Arcane… I just need to stay alive long enough to figure out how._

* * *

_A/N  
_

_Thank you for reading my latest chapter of my story. I hope you enjoyed it.  
_

_I enjoyed setting up some of these character interactions, especially Marisa and Reimu talking about Alice._

_ I know it's more popular to 'ship' these two characters together in some way, but I think they are more uneasy allies than anything else. I want interactions to be unique and interesting, and while I will use fan-preferred relationships for tension at some points, I don't want to get sidetracked trying to create pairings for no reason, especially not with my OC. I rely more on conflict than romance.  
_

_Anyways, that's enough of my rambling. _

_Please be sure to leave a review. As a new writer, hearing back from my readers is more important to me than anything else. I always need to improve.  
_

_The next chapter will be ready soon. Thanks again!  
_


	9. Back On the Road

_Man… hurry up Reimu… Maybe I should wake her up?_

**Be patient. She will be ready soon enough.**

I continue to sit next to the empty donations box in the front of the shrine. It was mid-morning now. Grayish clouds still filled the sky and blocked the sun, and it looks like they're going to be around for some time.

_I really didn't want to set out into such gloomy weather. At least it's cooler than yesterday though…_

Sitting inside the shrine was just giving me a headache, so I decided to go outside as soon as it was bright enough to see.

Once outside, I decided to try controlling my mental energy levels for my powers to pass some time. Conjuring my weapons, and testing my dark magic to see what kind of effect it has on me.

I was doing this all morning up until now, and the practice actually did me some good.

I'm getting a little better at conjuring magical ammo and using my spell, although I can't create new spells yet. Weapon switching is a bit more fluid, but the weapon creation process is still beyond me.

_Overall…_

I pause for a moment and rub my forehead. The headache from earlier still lingers in my mind.

_Who am I kidding? I just don't have the right mind-set for this kind of work. I don't think I'll ever learn to completely control my abilities._

_But I won't let that stop me… I can use them a little bit, and that's what counts. If I'm smart, and careful, I should be fine with what I know. _

_I'll be on the right track just as soon as Reimu wakes up… she'll be up any second now._

A few more minutes pass before I hear a door open in the back. Another minute, and the red and white shrine maiden comes around the corner.

"Good morning Reimu." I say with a wave.

"Good morning Knight. Did you… were you alright last night?" She asks in the same calm manner she always speaks in.

I nod. "Yeah, it's just a little weird having to stay up all night long."

She doesn't seem convinced. "Are you sure you're not hungry or tired? I don't want you going out and getting killed because you were too weak to put up a fight."

_The concern is appreciated, but I don't want to take up any more of her time._ "I'm fine, really. Don't worry about me. I'd like to get going if you're ready to show me."

She shrugs. "Alright then. Follow me, I'll tell you where you need to go."

I follow Reimu towards the shrine gate. Standing there, Gensokyo is spread out before us like a panoramic map.

She points off into the distance. "Do you see that forest over there? The one next to the lake?"

In the distance is a large lake. A cluster of tall trees stands on one end. "Yeah, I see it. Is that where I'm going?"

"Not quite. There is something else I think you should do first. Just before you reach that forest, there is a road leading to a place called Kourindou. You should go there first." She then points to a clearing left of the forest.

_Kourindou?_ "Why should I go there first?"

"It's a store. The man who owns it sells things from the outside world… your world that is." She replies.

I'm shocked by this."Are you serious? Where does he get it? Is he an outsider too?"

**Interesting… To acquire inventory from across the barrier of this realm… **

"Small things forgotten by the outside world can end up in Gensokyo for various reasons. It's a rare occasion, but it does happen." She explains. "More notably, there is a certain… ah… _friend _of mine that is capable of getting things from the outside as well."

"Wow… But, I have no money to spend." _I don't have anything actually._

"He is always looking for more information on the outside. Since he mostly trades, you may be able to use what you know in return for a few things from him. Try getting some new clothes if you can." She says this as politely as possible.

I look down at myself… my black shirt is fraying in several places, and my jeans have a wide tear on the right ankle. _Ugh… what a mess. I need to get this fixed. I hope this Kourindou place has something in my size._

When I look up, Reimu is in front of me holding out a pair of cloth packets. "Take the rest of these herbs with you before you go; it's good for burns and bruises. You don't regenerate, so try to keep something to heal yourself with at all times."

I gladly take it. "Thanks."

She turns away and points off towards the lake again. "After you finish there, you'll need to find the Scarlet Devil Mansion on the side of the lake opposite to the forest. You'll be looking for a librarian named Patchouli there."

_Uhh… Scarlet Devil? _"It doesn't sound like the friendliest place to go…"

"It isn't."

_Just great…_

She turns back to me and continues. "It isn't easy to get inside either. They have a strict no visitors policy there, although that hasn't stopped people in the past. Marisa goes in and out pretty regularly now that I think about it. Since she ran off last night, you'll have to look for her home in the forest if you want her help. You can go it alone, or try looking for her. It's up to you."

I nod. "Got it, anything else?"

She thinks for a moment. "No. That's it. I can't go with you because I have too much to do, but you're always welcome to come back here if you need a safe place. Is there anything you want to ask before you go?"

I try thinking of something, but I can't sort through the piles of questions I have for her.

**You do not have all day. Finish here and be off.**

After a moment, I give up on trying to think of something. _Asking for a crash course on Gensokyo will take too long. I should just try to figure it out as I go._

"No thanks. I think I got it all. Thanks for everything Reimu." I politely reply.

"Of course. Good luck. Be careful out there." Reimu gives a polite bow before turning back towards the old shrine.

I say goodbye and head down the steps.

_There is a lot I wanted to ask… There are a lot of things that are still bothering me… But I can't let doubt slow me down._

After a moment, I reach the bottom of the stairs.

_Just me and this crazy world now. Here we go._

Not wanting to tire myself early, I maintain walking speed. I keep my eyes on the now distant forest and begin traveling down the old road towards it.

With the sun behind the clouds, walking out here among the tall grass is a refreshing experience. After a moment I decide to take a wide look around. Hills, mountains, and trees make for a beautiful scene. Not to mention it is perfectly quiet out here.

Aside from the violent magic and strange creatures. This place is really a paradise. Each breath of fresh air helps to clear my head and raise my confidence.

"Man… the nature out here is just beautiful. I would have never gotten to see something like this normally."

**Do not forget to keep your eyes open for unexpected foes. The sun is gone, and many youkai will be about.**

_Calm down… it's fine. No point in trying to make myself nervous. Besides, I've only actually gotten into three fights since I got here, and one was voluntary. I think you might be overestimating the situation here._

**Do not say I did not warn you…**

He falls silent, and I continue along the path uninterrupted.

"Hm?"

A faint drop tickles my arm. I rub it off and look up to check the sky. Sure enough, the clouds have darkened a little, and were just beginning to deliver a light sprinkle.

The sprinkle isn't enough to bother me, nor is it enough to soothe the scorched ground.

However, it is enough to stir up the bugs.

I swat a few mosquitos away that had begun to buzz around me.

_Ugh! Damn bugs! I wonder if this Kourindou place has bug spray. This is going to get annoying really fast._

I walk a bit faster. These fields will turn into a marsh if it rains. I don't want to be here if that happens.

Bugs continue to hover about, and I try waving them off.

_Go away._

Once again, the sound of buzzing wings near my ear prompts another swipe from my hand.

"Ow!"

Surprised by the voice, I whirl back around to see what it was.

A new creature was with me now. She would have looked like an ordinary girl. Except, she is unnaturally small; just barely two feet tall. She has a bright yellow dress that was also matched her jewel-like eyes. A pair of transparent butterfly wings was attached to her back.

_What is she? She looks like a fairy._

**Unfortunately, you are correct. An ordinary fairy.**

_Wow, Really? And why unfortunately?_

**Because they are worthless! They do not die, they do not bleed, and they do not feel regret. They are completely pointless to me. **Arcane speaks more irritably than usual, burning my mind with his anger.

_Whoa, calm down! It's just a little fairy, no need to get all twisted.  
_

**Just… send her away! This creature bothers me.**

I can't help but smile a little.

_Ha ha… a god of suffering can't stand a cute little girl._

"Ow…" The fairy whined again. She continues to rub her head with her tiny hand.

_I think I hit her on accident. I should say sorry…_

"Sorry. Did I hurt you?" I politely apologize.

"I was just trying to pass by. Why did you hit me?" she demands. Her voice was so soft it was almost squeaky, so it wasn't intimidating at all.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it. It's just all of these bugs buzzing around out here. I couldn't tell the difference betw-"

"Y-y-y-you thought I was a BUG?" She indignantly shrieks.

_Crap. That came out wrong. _"No no no. I didn't mean it like that."

"You idiot! How could you say such mean things to a fairy? I'll… I'll…" She flies into me and punches me in the chest, but her tiny fist feels like nothing more than a hard poke.

I try to think of something to say to calm her down, but her gemstone-like eyes are already filling up with water.

"I'll… I'll… wah… ah…" A few drops begin to fall.

**You fool! Slay her or her cries will attract other youkai. Do it now!**

_I… err…_

Arcane's demand is too alien for me. I don't have it in me to strike someone so innocent, even in the interest off self-preservation. I merely stand there speechless, waiting for the inevitable…

"WAAAAAAAAAHHHH! HELP! A STUPID YOUKAI IS BEING MEAN TO MEEEEEEEE!"

She zooms off with a loud flutter. Crying and wailing as she flies away.

I stand there for several minutes before closing my eyes and punching myself in the head.

_Ugh… that was all kinds of wrong. I made a fairy cry! I haven't even been away from the shrine for an hour yet, and I'm already causing problems._

I sigh.

_I should just go now…_

"Hey! You!" Another fairy-like voice calls out to me. I open my eyes to see who it is.

_Oh… wow. That's… a lot of fairies._

Approaching is not one, but several fairies. I roughly count them, and find they number around forty. Each had different colored dresses, wings, and glistening eyes. All of them were very angry; some of them were already poised to lob danmaku orbs at me.

In the back is a pair of fairies that are a little bigger than the rest. Both of them carried a rod with a sunflower head. They looked like the leaders of this group.

Peeking out behind one of the sunflower staves is a familiar teary-eyed fairy. She was pointing at me while she whispered to her bigger friend.

"Hey tough guy! You think it's fun to pick on fairies? We aren't all so weak you know!" One of the sunflower fairies shouts at me. Many of the smaller fairies clamor in agreement.

I try to think of something to say back, but their sheer numbers and determination stops me. Nothing I could say would soothe this crowd. I don't think that any reasoning from me will help regardless.

This time the other leading fairy speaks up. "You youkai think you're so tough… Well we fairies aren't going to stand for this abuse any longer! Today, we'll show you!" Again, the fairies join in, throwing insults and names at me.

_They're taking this way too seriously. I think I stepped on a bad nerve with the fairies here._

The two leaders continue to take turns talking. Each sentence prompts another round of high-pitched cheering from the crowd. A few fairies that were watching from the side begin to join in without even knowing what's going on.

One mere accident and I'm stuck with a small army of angry girls, and they're all after me.

_This is bad… I can't fight them all off! How am I going to win against this many?_

**I see nothing but a pile of trash here. Swat them aside.**

_Are you insane? This is a whole swarm! I don't have the right gear to take down this many guys!_

**Then adapt. These weaklings are vastly inferior to your power. You must simply find the proper means to defeat them.**

I try to think of something, but I'm too nervous to concentrate.

_There is so many… what am I going to do?_

**Servant! Act or you will be killed!**

_I… I need to run, I can't do anything in front of this many enemies._

I take a hesitant glance backwards to see how much room I have. Thankfully, the fairies are only in front of me, and I'm free to run out into the fields.

_Given how fast they mobilized against me, I don't think I can get away, but those cluster of trees are close enough, and should offer a bit of cover for me._

A narrow wall of trees jutting out from the grass is only one good sprint away. I decide that I will have a better chance there.

I take a few steps back as I prepare to run for cover. Some of them notice this, prompting several angry shouts.

One of the leaders points at me. "You cannot run from us! We will not let you escape, and we will not forgive you for your insult. Girls! Get ready!"

All of the fairies gather magic into their hands and prepare to hurl it at me. Their small bodies are blocked out by countless flickering lights.

_Danmaku battle… No way around it I guess._

They are going to fire soon. I have no choice but to defend myself now.

I draw my pistol, Deceiver, and take aim at the crowd. None of the fairies are even slightly alarmed by my weapon. They aren't going to be intimidated by me.

_I can't kill them all with this, but I have to try and slow them somehow. Once I get to cover, I can focus on trying to come up with something to defeat them._

The leaders take aim at me with their sunflower staves and begin a countdown. "Ready… Aim…"

_Here it comes…_

"Fire!"

The thunder of gunshots rings out over the sound of flying danmaku. The battle starts.

Me against a whole mob of dangerous fairy girls.

_So far… not off to a great start today, but I'm not going to be stopped so easily!  
_

* * *

_A/N  
_

_Thanks for reading my latest chapter. I hope you enjoyed it as much as i did writing it.  
_

_Again, I really enjoy writing about Touhou characters because of all the possible interpertations. I think Reimu, even when worn down, would be the kind of person to offer friendly advice to someone in need. She is often portrayed as lazy and unwilling, but I think that's more of a side effect of how little respect she gets  
_

_Between all of the games, it seems like fairies are the universal punching-bag enemy in Gensokyo. It just feels natural to have fairies bug the adventurer at some point in a Touhou works. Naturally, I wanted to add a fairy obstacle in my story, but I decided to give them a distinct advantage so that the ensuing fight would be more interesting than just a curb stomp. I hope it worked out well.  
_

_Thanks again. The next chapter will be ready as soon.  
_


	10. Fairy Swatter

I repeatedly fire my pistol while running away from the attacking fairies. Their danmaku flies back at me like a hail, raining down all around me as I evade and dodge towards the safety of the trees.

My un-aimed shots fly through the air randomly. Many of the bullets fly past the fairies and continue harmlessly into the distance.

_Whoa too close! _I think to myself as another blast flies just overhead. I'm not even worried that I am missing with my own shots, I just want to get out of here.

Their danmaku is thankfully slow. Each fairy has to create a new orb with each throw, and their shorter bodies limit's their range and accuracy.

More worrisome is the sunflower fairies in the back of the group. Their danmaku is fast and destructive. I can barely avoid them.

"Keep going girls! Chase him! Don't let him escape!" One of the sunflower fairies orders.

Following the command, some of the fairies split off from the slow moving crowd and speed towards me. The fastest one flies right behind me and tosses her magical attack directly onto my back.

With literally no time to react, the close range danmaku successfully hits me.

"Ow!"

Their weak attack feels like nothing more than a strong jab. It surprises me, but does not hurt more than the initial sting.

The pursuing group quickly catches up with me and closes in around me, ready to try out the same tactic their friend succeeded at.

I turn my pistol towards the fairies flying next to me, but as soon as I take aim they fly over me to the other side. I continue to try and keep them in my sights, but at this range, my aim is too predictable.

_Hold still damn it! _I struggle to repel the fairies looming around me. I will be hit soon if I don't get them away from me.

The air fills with the sound of whirling energy; no doubt about to be thrown at me.

_No!_

An orb hits me. Followed by a second. Then a third. A fourth. A fifth_…_

Before long I am being pelted by their stinging missiles almost constantly.

"Aaaargh!" I cry out in pain as the hits increase in frequency.

The leaders shout another order. "We got him! Don't let up now!"

_Aaah! This hurts! To hell with this, I need to get over there NOW!_

I stop trying to fight back and focus on my running. I make a furious sprint towards the safety of the trees, enduring the assault of the mob. It's a painful effort, but I soon reach the shade of the barren tree.

I quickly step behind one of them and use it as a shield from their attacks. The rest of their danmaku uselessly chips away at the stout bark.

_That hurt__…_ But I think I'm safe for now

Next to this tree are three other trees sitting in a crooked row. Thanks to the dark skies, the shadows they cast make a veil of thick dark. It seems like a good spot to fight off the incoming swarm; they will not see me emerge from the shade to fire at them.

**Attackers approach.**

I peer around the corner only to be greeted by a rush of fairies.

_Shit. I forgot about them._

The fairies that charged out ahead of the group have followed me behind the trees. There were six of them altogether. They quickly surround me and aim their magic at me.

_So much for safety back here. I need to get rid of these fairies before the rest of them get over here._

**What are you rambling about you foolish servant? Use your sword and cut these weaklings apart!**

_No barriers this time, right? I think I got this then._

"Haha! Did you really think you could run from us? Big mistake mister tough guy!" One of them says in an attempt to scare me.

I remain calm. "Sorry girls, but I think it's you who just made a mistake."

The fairies cannot see me switch to my sword in the dark. Only the faintest whirl can be heard as the blade materializes.

"What was that? You better not be-uwah!" She is stopped mid-sentence by my sword slice.

I quickly slash at each of the surrounding fairies before they can retaliate. I work quickly, slicing each one in mere seconds.

Even with my rapid movements, the sharp blade of Fiend easily cuts into them. Due to their smaller bodies, what would only be a light gash for a human is a grievous wound for them.

_Sorry girls, but I've got too much at stake to hold back… Wait… What the hell?_

As they begin to die, they suddenly shatter into a glittering dust that floats down and disappears into the soil. It is one of the most unusual things I've seen yet.

_Did they… disappear?_

**I told you already they are immune to death. They are incarnations of nature itself. When they expire, they merely return to the earth and are revived at a later date. Even you and your idiotic morals should have no regrets punishing these pests.**

_Ugh… you know you really… I'm just going to ignore that comment. I need to focus on the fight._

I peer around the tree to see what is happening.

_Hmmm… odd._

The mob of fairies continues to clutter together, but they are no longer moving towards me. They are not firing either, although they do have magic at the ready.

_Looks like they planned to flush me out with that group… and they're still waiting for it too._

**Their plans have failed them. Stop speculating and use this advantage.**

I step back and take a deep breath to try and relax.

_Ok… Time to fight back for real._

I summon the pistol back into my hands and reload it. I take another deep breath and step halfway out into the open. I raise the sights to my eyes and set the reticule over one of the attackers.

The bullet I fire pierces the fairy, and she explodes into dust just like the others did.

_Gotcha that time!_

The crowd is shocked at the sudden attack. I take advantage of the brief confusion and let loose more shots at the fairy swarm. It only takes one to two well-placed bullet to bring down each one.

"Hey! Stop looking around and fire back already!" One of them angrily shouts.

They recover from the surprise attack and begin to shoot back at me. Danmaku slams into the trees and the ground next to me.

"Whoa." I duck back behind the tree as a fairy bullet whizzes dangerously close to me.

_Ok, got to be careful here._

I barely lean around the corner and shoot again. The fairies try to strike me from behind the tree, but are unable to hit my body. I continue to reduce their numbers until I am forced to reload.

_I think I got this under control now. As long as I keep using this cover._

I peer out again, but this time I am forced to take cover by an explosion of energy. The sunflower fairies are attacking this time; showering blasts all over the line of trees.

_That was close!_

I try to step out again, but more near misses scare me back into cover. I've defeated several of them now, but there is still at least twenty headed this way, and their combined danmaku is falling like a rain.

_Damn… I can't get any shots off like this._

**This game you play is a waste of time. You should just obliterate these foes.**

_With what? I'm not some kind of death machine you know._

**…**

_Ok, so maybe I am to you, but I certainly don't think so._

**Adapt or lose. And losing will most certainly result in death this time. These simpletons have no way of knowing you do not regenerate as they do.**

_So just 'adapt or die' then… great._

I slowly peer around the corner. They were coming closer, most likely to try and force me out from behind the trees. All of them huddled together as they nervously anticipate my next move. Only the two sunflower fairies flew by themselves.

_If I run out there than those fairies will go all over the place. I need to take them all down at once. One good blast and I could wipe them all out. If only I had a weapon or a spell that could do that._

I think on that for a moment.

_I wonder what makes new magic appear. Mysterious Tremor activated when I needed it to protect Mystia…_

I remember distinctly how the spell was activated by the strong passion to protect my friend.

_Well… if feelings are what makes this work. Then maybe my current feelings can make it work again._

_Because, I really need this now! Get these fairies out of my way!_

I can feel my dark magic begin to stir around me again. Words begin to fill my throat again.

I open my mouth, and unleash a new spell.

"Dark magic, gather before me. Shatter and break anything in my way. Explosive Anomaly!

Just like my other spell, a dark green energy starts to swirl about. This time, it clings to my hand and forms a sphere. The sphere quickly shrinks and becomes smaller as more magic compresses it into a smaller shape. It shrinks all the way down to the size marble; the energy inside it cackles and swirls like mad.

Once the spell finishes, I am left holding a tiny gem made of very unstable energy.

_Alright. I hope this works like I think it should… One, two… three!_

I step out and hurl the tiny marble at the cluster of fairies. It flies unnoticed towards the group, misses, and silently touches the ground.

Then there is the explosion.

"Whoa!" I shield my eyes from a blinding white light.

Fiery sparks, bright lights, and forceful shockwaves fly out from the earth as the built up energy is instantly released like some kind of magic grenade. The blast is not very destructive, but these small creatures are too weak to withstand the force.

The blast envelopes a large portion of the group of fairies. When the dust clears, there are only a few attackers left; the two sunflower fairies, plus six others. The spell had cut them down by more than half.

_A bomb spell? Well, that's one way to do it I guess._

**An impressive show of force. I will admit; when you do your duty properly you certainly do it well.**

The fairies that survived begin to back away. The few still in the air nervously chat with each other.

"W-what just happened? H-h-how did he do that?"

"I'm out of here. I've already died twice this month!"

"Umm… Umm…"

"I… err… I just remembered that I have to go do something!"

"He's way powerful! I don't want to get blown up!"

"Sorry, but…"

The remaining fairies give their excuses and scatter away. Leaving only the last two to fight me alone.

"Hey! Don't just run away! Don't leave us alone with this guy!" One of the sunflower fairies angrily calls out.

**Their courage fails them. Pitiful.**

_Alright, just these two now. Time to confront them and put an end to this._

I step out of the shadows walk up behind the two fairies with my pistol aimed at them. "Hey. You two better follow your friends out of here. I guarantee you aren't going to win on your own."

One of the fairies spins around to face me. "Quiet you stupid youkai! Stupid stupid stupid idiot!" She begins to go into a fit of angry squeaks.

The other one shows a bit of concern, and tries to warn her friend. "Maybe he's a lot stronger than we thought. We should go before he gets really mad at us."

The fairy who said that floats down and stops right in front of me. "I'm really sorry about this. This whole thing is just a big misunderstanding_…_"

This short-tempered fairy rockets towards her partner and whacks her with her sunflower staff. "Don't you dare show him any respect! Don't you have any pride as a fairy?"

The other whines softly and rubs her sore head. Her friend only continues shouting at her.

_Cut that out you brat! She doesn't deserve that!_

I load my gun. The reloading mechanism makes a loud click that grabs their attention again. I point Deceiver right at the center of the aggressive fairy. It's almost point-blank at this range.

I give one last warning. "Listen! I'm getting really annoyed with your pushy attitude. I'm giving you five seconds to clear out or I'll shoot."

Her response is to swat my arm aside with the flower on her staff. "Well I'm giving you two seconds, so drop dead you stupid youkai!"

She takes aim at me with her staff, almost jamming it right in my face.

_Wrong move!_

I swiftly grab the shaft and pull back, pulling the big fairy along with it, drawing her right into the barrel of Deceiver. I cram the gun into her gut and fire off a trio of shots.

Her eyes go wide in shock for a second, and then close as she goes limp and falls to the ground. She explodes into a tremendous shower of fairy dust when she lands. When I release her staff, it also disappears in the same fashion.

_That's what you get you little punk._

**Good. Now that you are finished…**

_Wait, what happened to the other one?_

I look towards the other fairy, which had still chosen not to fight back. As soon as we lock eyes she begins to sweat.

Before I can say anything, she breaks out into a flurry of apologies.

"Aaaah! I'm really sorry for getting in your way and for shooting at you and for sending those fairies at you and for my friend's rude behavior and for all of those mean things I said and for taking up all of your time. I'm really really sorry sir."

I stand there and listen to her until she finishes. Having this fairy afraid of me doesn't make me feel any better about this situation. I don't want to be feared.

"Hey_…_"

I try to say something, but she panics and zooms away as soon as I open my mouth.

_Damn! I wanted to at least try and apologize. I didn't want to fight them all like this._

I look around to see if anyone else is around, but I am alone again. It's just me in the middle of the field. Everything is quiet.

I put my weapon away._ Well… At least I won. I can keep going now._

I look around for the path, spinning around as I try to find it among the tall grass.

_Um__…_

I spin back around in search. This time, I am met with a pair of large red eyes.

"Ah!" The surprise sends me stumbling backwards. Once I step away I can see who the eyes belonged too, and I recognize the figure. Black wings, casual attire, and camera on the neck.

"Ayayaya! I knew following you was a good idea! You make for great action shots! Print-worthy material all the way!" The tengu girl enthusiastically states.

_Oh boy… _

"Hey Aya." I greet her back

She gasps. "You remembered my name! You must be a fan of my work! Oh, it makes me so happy to hear that I have fans!"

I sigh. "You never told me your name. The only reason I know it is because of Reimu."

She gasps again. "Whaaaat? Did I not introduce myself? Then allow me…"

I try to stop her. "Wait, I just said I already-"

She takes a step back and spins into the air. She lands on a thick piece of brush that is jutting out of the ground; somehow balancing on its tip with the tooth on the bottom of her sandals.

She stands proudly atop the fields and announces her name.

"Aya Shameimaru! Pure and honest reporter for the Bunbunmaru newspaper!"

**Pure idiocy.**

_Well, at least she was kind enough to formally introduce herself this time. _

"Well then, nice to meet you Aya. Now, do you mind telling me why you were following me?" I ask.

She jumps down and walks back up to me. "Field work of course! Someone has to get the news, and that someone is me." She holds her camera up for me to see.

_Wait… _"So what were you doing during that whole fight just then? Taking pictures?"

She smiles "Yep."

_Oh my god… _"So you didn't bother to help out at all?" I demand.

"No… how would I get any shots if I got into fights all the time? You need to get your priorities straight." She finishes with a laugh.

_You need to get YOURS straight!_

I look down and give an exhausted sigh.

Aya takes a step back into the air. "Well, I got to go again, more news to catch! I'll interview you later ok?"

_Whatever you say… oh, wait!_

"Uh, hey Aya? Do you see the road?" I call out to the tengu, who is now high in the air.

She quickly looks around, and after a moment she points. "There."

"Thanks Aya. Good-"

My voice is cut off by the loud crack of her takeoff.

"Bye… What a spaz. Whatever she is doing, I hope it takes her a while. Even a few seconds with her is exhausting. I don't think I would survive an interview with her." I say aloud.

**I believe she is more intent on observing you. This 'interview' is merely an excuse to follow you and spy and your actions. She will most likely be a problem later.**

_Perfect…_

I walk in the direction Aya pointed and find the path again.

_Better keep going then. I still need to reach Kourindou._

**Yes, I have had enough of this field.**

_I hope this place is going to be worth it._

I start walking along the path towards the forest, hoping that I won't have any more random encounters with Gensokyo's bizarre residents.

_Kourindou… I wonder what the place is like. Hopefully, I'll be able to get there without any more trouble. One fairy army a day is enough for me!_

* * *

_A/N_

_Thank you for reading my latest chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.  
_

_This is essentially the first battle Knight wins by himself, so I wanted to try and make it an interesting challenge. I ran into a few problems as I tried to put this battle together, but I think the end result turned out ok.  
_

_As for Aya suddenly showing up... I just thought it fit. Given that she literally dodges bullets for photos in the games, she just come across to me as a person who puts work before common sense. Having her randomly pop in and give her professional opinion on something just seems like something she would do.  
_

_Thanks again. This chapter took me a while, but I'm working on this story almost constantly, so I hope to have the next chapter ready soon.  
_


	11. Nostalgia

"Ok, I can't take this anymore. I got to stop for a bit." I mutter to myself as I sit under the shade of an old bent tree.

I've been walking uninterrupted for about two hours now. The tall grass is now replaced by thick undergrowth, and the once sparse trees are now more numerous. A short distance away is a big sign that has directions written on it.

I wanted to at least read the sign before stopping, but walking is becoming increasingly strenuous. The pain in my legs has been getting worse and worse.

I take a moment to roll up my worn out jeans and check for any damage.

_Damn. That's why._

The assault from the fairies earlier had not left me unscathed. Dark bruises entirely cover the back of my legs. It isn't crippling, but the bruises and the pain are both widespread.

_I'm going to have to be more careful when I fight._

**Although your regenerative powers are minimal, your vitality still exceeds that of a human. Do not fear being wounded.**

_Yeah, but walking around while hurt is going to cause problems. _I reason back to him.

He does not reply. He probably doesn't care.

_Anyways… this stuff Reimu gave me is supposed to help heal this. Good thing it didn't get damaged in the fight._

I pull out one of the bags and undo the knot. Inside is a tiny note jutting out from a small pile of oily powder. I take the note out and examine it

"Apply healing herb to injured area for immediate effect. Use only on burns, scrapes, bruises, and sores." I read to myself.

Following the simple instructions, I scoop up a few drops of the gritty substance with a finger and spread it on a bruise. It's surprisingly cool even after being left in my pocket for so long.

Miraculously, the treated area begins to heal. The dark smudge beneath my skin begins to fade.

_Oh wow! This is good stuff. I better put more on here._

I act quickly and apply the entire packet to my legs. Although my chest and back are also sore, my legs are my main priority right now, and I want to make sure they are completely healed.

"And… good."

I stuff the empty bag into my pocket and stand up. I take a few steps to test the effects.

_No aches! Good. I think I'm ready to move again._

I quickly walk over to the sign sitting before the shadow of the forest.

There are a series of pointing arrows and labels drawn on it. Pointing forward is 'Forest of Magic' and 'Foot of Youkai Mountain'. Pointing right is 'Misty Lake' and 'Scarlet Residence'. And finally, to the left is 'Village' and 'Kourindou'.

_Left it is. Time to pick up the pace._

I turn left and break into a light run, eager to reach my destination. I have spent enough time trying to reach this store and was ready to finally get there.

I run away from the edge of the forest along the widening road. Light sprinkles and cool wind make running a painless effort, and my enhanced body gives me an almost endless stamina.

Several minutes pass before I suddenly reach the edge of a clearing. A short wood fence separates the impassable foliage from a grassy field.

I slow down to a walk and approach the clearing.

_This must be the place._ I think to myself as I stand in front of the building sitting in the middle of the clearing.

The building was about the size of big gas station or a convenience store and had messy gray walls. The outside has a big sign that says 'Kourindou' on it, but that is the only decoration it has.

It's just a simple, rectangular building; there is nothing notable about its exterior. I would never guess that this might be a shop just by looking at it.

_Looks a little abandoned. I hope it's still open. _I pull on the door and it opens. I open it all the way and step inside.

Once inside I am hit by an artificial breeze. Placed on a shelf near the door is a very modern tower fan, humming softly as it oscillates and cools the room.

Curious as to how it is working in a world that doesn't appear to have electricity, I visually follow the cord to a kerosene generator sitting on the ground below. Next to it is a portable heater that is not in use.

_Wow. That's pretty nice little setup._

I slowly walk across the store and examine the room. A roof window and a few lanterns illuminate the store. The rows of shelves were filled with miscellaneous items from the world I come from. There were all kinds of electronics, appliances, conveniences, tools, clothes, books, supplies, and even weapons. There are a lot of expensive items on display, but there is also an even greater amount of outdated junk.

_Reimu wasn't kidding about him liking things from the outside world. Look at all of this stuff!_

"Greetings stranger. Welcome to my store." A man's voice states.

I turn just in time to see someone emerge from a room in the back of the store. Seeing as he is the only other person here, I assume he is the owner.

He is a young, stern-faced man. If he was human then he would probably be only a year or two older than me, but his bright silver hair hints that he may not be normal. In spite of all of the modern flair the store had, he is wearing a traditional Japanese outfit. His robe was blue and black and his eyes were a faint gold color.

"Hello there." I greet to him.

He pushes up his thin glasses before replying. "What strange eyes. You… aren't from around here are you? What is your name?"

"Just call me Knight. And you aren't wrong about me not being from around here. I'm an outsider." I reply.

"I see. How are you adjusting to Gensokyo?" He asks me. His tone is pleasant and welcoming. After all of these demon women, dealing with another man is a nice change.

"Well, it's not easy. I've already gotten into a couple of nasty fights." I answer.

He smiles a little. "I can imagine. Outsiders always have difficulty adjusting. Although… you are one of the first outsider youkai we've had in quite a while. I'm correct in assuming you are a youkai?"

_This guy is certainly likes his questions._

**This man is of no interest to me. Do what you need to and be on your way.**

I sigh. "Look… um." I trail off as I realize I still don't know his name.

"My name is Rinnosuke Morichika." He offers.

"Right, Rinnosuke." I continue." Look, I have a lot of stuff to do; really important stuff. I was wondering what it might take for me to grab a few things… a change of clothes and maybe some supplies? What would that cost?"

He glances around while he thinks. "Well… lately I've been getting quite a few goods that do not seem to be working correctly. You see, my power is strictly limited to the identification of things, not their use."

_The power to identify? That's a little weak compared to everything else I've seen._

**He is only half youkai. His abilities are limited.**

_Huh…_

He goes on. " Perhaps, if you have a few hours to spare then you can help me identify these problems in exchange for some of my wares."

_That's it? Easy._ Although the memories pertaining to my past are gone, my memories of the fine details of human society are still sharp.

I nod. "Sure thing. But just so you know, I can't actually fix them."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I know of a young kappa, a river spirit that is, who is talented with machines. She's been helping me get some of the devices working, but she does get stuck sometimes. Your information would certainly be helpful to her."

"Alright then. Let me pick up a few things and we can talk about how much time it'll cost." I offer.

He nods. "Of course. Feel free to take what you need and let me know when you finish. If you are taking clothes, than I would recommend getting something for the coming of autumn. There is a closet over by the weapons that you can use to change."

"Ok. Thanks."

I walk past him and over to the corner where the clothes hang. To my surprise, many of the items still have store tags on them, and are unused.

_There isn't a lot to choose from. I hope he has something I can use._

There weren't very many men's clothes, but I manage to find some things I can wear. I find good duplicate replacements for everything buy my boots and my shirt.

_Well… I can wear this… but this is just going to get torn up again. _I think as I examine the only men's top I can find: A simple white t-shirt. The rack for tops is almost entirely for women.

I walk around the few clothes racks to make sure there is nothing I missed.

_Damn… nothing else. I guess- whoa wait. What's this?_

To my surprise, I find a thin safari jacket that was, thankfully, for men. It was about waist length and had all kinds of useful features.

_Lightweight, strong material, good against weather, and plenty of pocket space. Perfect!  
_

I take the jacket and shirt along with the rest of the clothes and go back to Rinnosuke.

I show him the items. "How much for these?"

He looks over each thing before answering. "Hmm… how about four hours of your help for those. Is that alright?"

_What? It's already noon! If I try to get anything else then I'll be here 'till sundown!_

**You do not have any more time than that to sacrifice.**

"Um… well…" I mutter as I try to think of some way to cut a deal with him. He waits patiently for my response, and I soon come up with a solution.

_Let's try this. _"I still need something for my travels. Can you maybe throw in something extra with the clothes? I'll give you your four hours then. You'd be doing me a huge favor."

He nods. "Very well. I have a box of supplies I reserve for weary human travelers. I think I left it near the tools."

_Nice! _"Alright. Let me put this on and I promise to only take what I can use."

He agrees, and I go to the close he pointed at earlier to change.

As I go to the closet, I pass by a small section of collected weapons. Several weapons ranging from classical swords, to antique guns, to modern infantry gear are lined up.

**Humans… Imaginative creatures they are. Their ability to mastermind suffering is unsurpassed; not even by the most sadistic demons. Do you see the history before you? This is why I chose a human to be my servant. This is who you are.**

_I… won't lie… you're probably right._

I feel sick knowing I've already proved him right more than once, but it soon passes and I continue.

I quickly step away from the wall and go into the closet. I change into the outfit I selected and throw on the jacket. After I finish fastening the jacket's belt and buttons, I look into a small mirror sitting there to see how everything fits.

Initially, I was hoping there might be something here that would better protect me against danmaku, but this was still a definite step up in terms of functionality; the blue jeans and tan jacket don't look too bad together either.

Deciding my dirty old clothes have no use, I take everything out of the pockets and throw them away in the garbage can that was there. With that done, I step out into the store again. Rinnosuke is sitting in a chair near the far wall, still waiting on me.

_Now let's see where that box is…_

"Hello? I'm here! I brought that thing back too!" A young girl's voice calls out.

The door opens and someone enters. Whoever she is, she is rather short. I can only see a green hat atop blue curls as she moves between the shelves.

Rinnosuke readily greets her. "Ah! It's good that you arrived today. I have a visitor you would be interested in." He glances to me and I take it as a sign to head over there.

I walk over to where Rinnosuke is. In front of him is a short girl.

"Eh? Where?" She slowly turns around and sees me.

"Aah!" She then suddenly disappears. It's just me and Rinnosuke again.

"What the?" I whisper in awe.

Rinnosuke smiles and takes a few steps forward. He places his hand in the air and it catches on something.

"Now now. That is no way to act in front of others. Don't be shy; come on out." He says as he strokes nothing.

After a few seconds, she slowly fades back into view under Rinnosuke's hand.

_Wow. That's pretty cool._

Now that I can see her I notice she is rather young, almost nymph-like; although that doesn't mean much for a youkai. Her hair, eyes, dress, and boots are all blue, while her cap and backpack are bright green. Her dress has been heavily modified with pockets and mini-satchels all over the arms and skirt. Between her backpack and her dress, she has an extraordinary amount of storage space on her.

"H-hi… I'm Nitori." She mumbles. She is looking down and blushing.

_Aww. She's being shy._

I introduce myself. "I'm Knight. I'm from the outside world. It's nice to meet you Nitori. Nice little invisibility trick you did by the way."

"T-t-thanks. I made it b-by myself." She stutters.

_Wait, made? Did I hear that right?_

Nitori turns to her friend before I can ask more.

"I got that thing you showed me to work. I spent all week on it." She says to Rinnosuke.

"Oh? Why don't you show it to him? He can tell you for sure if it's in proper condition. He is from the outside world after all."

"Oh. S-s-sure." She starts to stutter and blush again as she turns to face me.

"H-here. Tell me w-what you think." She slowly extends her hand to give me a small device.

I take it and look at it the smooth gray device. _It's a PSP. These were still pretty popular before I died. Did she really repair this on her own?_

I flick the device on and it springs to life with full power. The memory is intact and there are even a few saved games from the previous owner.

_Huh… look at that._

I shut it off and hand it back to her. "Good as new."

She suddenly looks up at me. "What? Really?"

"Yeah. Everything checks out. It's just like what you would buy at the stores." I assure her.

Her glowing blue eyes begin to glow brighter. She excitedly takes the device from my hands and offers it back to Rinnosuke, who gladly accepts it.

"Let me put this back on the shelves. In the meantime, why don't you start by following Knight around the store? He is helping me identify some of the odd behavior in the things I showed you last time." He says while walking away.

"Ok then! Let's get started!" She declares. Her eyes are now radiant blue lights.

_Ah, so she's pretty friendly once you put her in her comfort zone. But before we start._

"Can we hold on for just one more second? I still need to grab some things." I ask her.

She quietly nods and I go to where the tools are and begin looking for the box he mentioned. It's not in plain sight, so I have to look through the crowded shelves for it.

_She's probably getting impatient. Maybe passing the time with some small talk…_

"So… uh… why do you come here?" I ask as I examine a shelf.

"I love building machines, and the human technology is so interesting. I do small favors for him, and in return he lets me look at the things he finds. Everything here is so fascinating."

She then asks her own question. "What about you? Where are you going?"

I move over to the next shelf. "I have to go to the… um… Scarlet Devil Mansion? I need to see the librarian there. After that, I don't know."

Nitori stifles a gasp of shock. "There? That place is dangerous! People get killed there!"

I sigh. "I know. But I'm a-"

**Remember…**

"I'm… in a tight spot right now. I don't have a lot of other options." I finish.

"I see." She sighs.

"Don't worry about me though. I can hold my own." I reassure her. I don't think she really believes it though.

After a moment, I find the box; a rusty first aid kit. There isn't much left inside, but I manage to find a bottle of painkillers and a small flashlight I could use.

I test the flashlight and am disappointed to find it has no batteries.

_Argh! Of course it doesn't have batteries!_

I am about to put it back when a poke from Nitori grabs my attention.

She grins and hands me a pair of tiny sticks. "You need batteries right? I've found a way to get power to handheld devices a long time ago. These energy rods are a special formula made by me. These will never run out!"

_Really? Wow, let's try it then!_

I take the battery substitutes and fit them in the flashlight. I test it again and the flashlight sends a cone of light towards the roof.

"Thanks Nitori. You're a gem." I compliment her and she beams back at me.

I pocket the flashlight. "Ok, all set. Now, let's get a look at those-whoa slow down!"

Nitori suddenly pulls me over to a shelf near the electronics and hands me one of the devices.

"This! Can you tell me what's wrong with this one?" She quickly asks.

"Alright, calm down. Let me look at it." I chuckle.

I examine the device in my hands; it's an IPod that has not been activated yet. The screen turns on and waits to be synched with a computer.

"This one's in good shape, but it hasn't been activated by the user. You need an internet connection for that." I explain.

Nitori eagerly listens to my words before speaking. "An… internet? Too bad, I don't have one of those. What about this one then?" She then shows me another item.

_Oh man… This girl is going to wear me out. Still, I'll have to thank Reimu for sending me here. I've got some useful gear for my trip to the mansion._

Soon, I'll be on my way to the Scarlet Devil Mansion in search of a way to save my soul, but for now it's just me and this energetic little youkai dragging me around an old store.

It's probably going to be the easiest four hours I'm ever going to get for a while.

* * *

A/N

Thank you for reading my next chapter.

Writing about Kourindou was kind of a challenge; it was very confusing at some parts. I think I pulled it off ok, but any reviews regarding how I did would be useful.

Still, I had a lot of fun writing about Rinnosuke and Nitori. These two are usually depicted as the most technologically advanced people in Gensokyo, so I thought they would naturally be friends. And with Knight having just come from the outside itself, I think the three of them would get along pretty well.

I'll have the next chapter ready soon.


	12. Unusual Encounters

"Whoa…" I mutter in amazement as Nitori finishes reassembling another item from the store's shelves.

I've spent the past four hours being dragged around Kourindou. Many of the electronics and appliances on display were either impossible to use or outright broken, but Nitori was unstoppable. She's been disassembling and reassembling with her advanced tools and parts ever since we started. Her pockets are filled with all sorts of hardware kits, spare wiring, and replacement parts; anything she could ever need for work.

With my guidance, and her skill, we were not only able to diagnose all of the problems, but Nitori was able to fix many of them on the spot.

"And… done!" Nitori excitedly declares as she closes the lid on a coffee maker. It had taken her only seven minutes to crack it open, replace the torn wires, and seal it back together again.

I reach over and tap a button on top of the machine, and it lights up just as it should.

"That's another one fixed." I state.

Rinnosuke claps softly. "Well done, well done. You repaired so much of merchandise today. I cannot thank you enough."

Nitori grins. "Hehehe. Sure, happy to help"

Rinnosuke then turns to me. "And thank you too Knight. You have done much more than what you owe already. If there is anything else you would like before you leave…"

I shake my head. "No thanks, the jacket and clothes are enough. I would like to get going now."

"Very well then. Come on then, I need to lock the shop. You too Nitori." He says to the both of us.

"What? You're leaving?" I ask as I make my way to the door. Nitori follows right behind me.

"Yes. I will be visiting the Hakurei Shrine today."

_Hakurei… I wonder how Reimu is doing._

As Rinnosuke opens the door, I see that the weather has worsened. A light rain now falls from the darkening clouds.

Nitori runs right out into the rain, showing no signs of being bothered. Rinnosuke grabs a gray parasol and steps out. With nothing to guard me but my jacket, I slowly walk out into the rain; I try not to let it bother me too much, as I'm going to have to be doing a lot of walking out here.

Nitori spins around to face us. "I need to hurry back home before the rain gets too bad. I'll see you later!"

I wave goodbye. Nitori waves back just before turning invisible, leaving me and Rinnosuke alone together. We both head towards the path leading back to the forest.

**Finally you are done with that horrid task. Now you can continue. **Arcane almost sounds relieved, but it's hard to tell from his distorted voice.

_Yeah, but I wished I could have at least avoided the rain._

Thankfully, once we pass the fence surrounding Kourindou, the leaning trees begin to offer a bit of protection from the rain.

"What strange weather we have here. For it to rain this late in the year… It is a bad sign" Rinnosuke muses to himself.

"Bad?" I ask.

"Unusual weather is a sign of a disturbing event. The last time the weather misbehaved, an incident occurred that leveled the Hakurei shrine and the surrounding hills to nothing." He replies in a very serious tone.

_So all of those fields by the shrine used to be hills? And the shrine was destroyed too? I wonder how she ever recovered from it._

"Well, I hope that isn't going happen again. I don't think Reimu could handle having her shrine destroyed right now." I say this while thinking of how worn down and poor Reimu looked when I met her. Seeing her was almost a sad sight.

Rinnosuke sighs. "That poor girl. She's so busy solving all of these incidents that she can barely take care of herself. There just aren't enough heroes and too many troublemakers in Gensokyo; the shrine maiden just can't keep up. I occasionally go there to help her take care of the place, but she is rarely there anymore."

"That's… I had no idea…" I struggle to find the right words.

"Don't worry about her. She is the strongest woman in Gensokyo. She may look poor, but you'll never see it bother her." He says with a little more enthusiasm.

**Her will is strong, but even the strong will break with enough force.**

_Hey! Don't talk about Reimu like that. She deserves more respect.  
_

"I'm sure she's happy to have your support anyways." I reply as I try ignore Arcane.

"She certainly is. This intersection is not too much further away; I'll be on my way there soon."

The rain is not heavy enough to obstruct vision, and I can clearly see the sign post I passed earlier. From here, I'll be going into the forest. Reimu said Marisa could help me, and I intend to get any help I can.

_Still a ways off though._

I try to pass the time with talking.

"So this incident… who started it anyways? Are there really people strong enough to flatten a whole shrine? That sounds pretty crazy." I ask.

Rinnosuke suppresses a chuckle. "You have not been in Gensokyo long enough have you? That shrine would be an easy target for most, and it has been for a long time now. As for who started it, I read an article that said it was a celestial named…"

Rinnosuke stops and tilts his head sideways as if confused.

_What? Did he forget? _"Who is it? Is everything ok?"

"Alice Margatroid…" He whispers.

_Alice? That doesn't make sense. She isn't a-_

**No, you fool! Look ahead.**

I realize Rinnosuke is staring at something and I follow his gaze to where it is.

It's barely visible, but peering out behind a tree next to the sign is a blond-headed woman.

_Oh, Alice is here… Wait, Alice! Maybe she can help me after all!_

I run towards her. "Alice! Alice Margatroid! I need to talk to you!"

She turns back around and disappears behind a tree. I break into a sprint to catch up with her.

When I reach the sign I turn after her, but all I see is the thick shadows of the Forest of Magic. She's already gone.

I try calling for her anyways. "Alice! Alice! I have something I need to ask you!"

No response comes. I'm left staring at the forest entrance.

_Damn. Why did she run from me?_

**I could feel her stare… The energies she was emitting were disturbing. I believe she is ill. You should avoid her at all costs from now on.**

_Are you serious? You're sure?_

**I will not lie to you while I am still so invested in your soul. She is a danger to you; I know it.**

_Shit… so much for that idea. I guess I'm not going into the forest then._

Rinnosuke walks up behind me. "She appears before you, and then leaves without a word. Such an unusual girl. I hope she is well."

_I think I should warn Reimu about this._ "No. I… er… felt something odd about her when I was running up to her. If you see Reimu or Marisa at the shrine, can you tell them something bad is happening to Alice? I think something is seriously wrong with her."

Rinnosuke nods. "Of course. I'll head straight there."

I turn back towards the road leading towards the lake. "Thanks, I've got to hurry up… this rain is probably going to get worse tonight. Thanks for everything."

"Certainly. Take care, and be sure to visit my store again."

I give a quick wave goodbye and leave Rinnosuke. It's just me on this dirty trail now.

I look down and think to myself.

_Arcane… when you said disturbing energies, what did you mean? I just want to know what might have happened._

**It isn't important. Just focus on the task at hand for now. If you are fortunate, then you will not see her again.**

_You're hiding things from me again aren't you? Whatever. We'll talk to this Patchouli person and figure out how to get rid of you. Then, I'll go figure out what's happening to her myself._

**Indeed.**

I quicken my pace through the rain. If I remember correctly, I still need to cross an entire lake in order to get to the mansion. I just wonder how I'm going to get in without any help from Marisa.

_It's gonna be a long day…_

The path narrows and winds along through the brush and trees, once again drawing me away from the forest.

As I walk along, the air begins to grow colder and colder. I notice something odd begin to happen to the ground.

_What's with this… what the hell is with this fog? Where is this coming from?_

A low sweeping mist begins to rise up and settle along the ground. The mist is unusually thick like smoke, and obstructs my view of the ground.

_This is bad… I can't see the ground. I could walk right into a hole or something without even knowing it. I can't even see the path anymore._

Technically, I could still see the path because tall brush indicates where the edge of the path is, but it's still unnerving. Still, I don't let it stop me.

The fog leaves behind tiny wakes and ripples as I march right through it.

I continue to get closer and closer to the lake and the mist gets heavier and heavier. By the time I actually get the lake into view, everything below my knees has disappeared under a blanket of fog.

_I guess they don't call it Misty Lake for no reason. _

The trees and brush quickly give way to fields, allowing me to see the lake clearly as I draw near. The lake itself is a calm body of water, but the edge of the lake foams and swirls with thick mist in an unnatural manner; pouring fog over the landscape like a massive pot of dry-ice mixture.

Out of curiosity, I approach the lake.

But then, a violent prick on the side of my neck strikes me.

"Ow! What the hell?"

I quickly glance over my shoulder to see a large scorpion. I have been looking at the strangeness of the ground so much that I hadn't noticed it crawling up me.

"Ugh! Get off!" I angrily swat the scorpion. The bug tumbles into the fog and vanishes beneath.

_Well that's a great way to kick off the journey. Stung by a scorpion__…_ I hope it wasn't poisonous.

I shake off the pain and take a step forward. As I do, a distinct crunch occurs.

_Ah? what was that? It sounded like-_

"Aah! What are you DOING?" A voice cries out from behind me.

I spin around to see who it is.

Behind me is a short girl. She is wearing a white shirt and blue shorts and has a large black cape on her shoulders. Her hair is a light aqua and is topped with a strange antenna ornament. A slit in the middle of the cloak makes it look sort of like insect wings, and the antenna on her head is eerily life-like.

_Let me guess__…_ bug person.  


**An insect youkai. A mere pest, but still more a more valuable target than those pathetic fairies.  
**

"Why did you do that? You just stepped on that poor scorpion! She had a family you know!" She continues to frantically run in my direction. Her young face is mixture of wrath and shock. Her eyes glow brightly with anger.

_Oh boy, I think this is going to end badly. _"I… um… I didn't mean to. I just knocked it off me for stinging me and-"

"Well it's not her fault for stinging you. You were scaring her with your walking!" She's only a few steps away from me, staring at me with her fists on her hips.

"Again, I didn't mean to-"

"Oh, quiet you! You did that on purpose. How can you just accidentally step on a bug?" She accuses.

"The fog here is so thick I didn't-"

"So you're just blind then. The blind shouldn't be walking around in the rain to begin with." She taunts me again.

"I'm not blind. I just-"

She continues to interrupt me. "You're eyes do look terrible. Maybe you should see a doctor _before _you think about stomping around the lake like an idiot."

_Is there no reasoning with this girl?_

**Perhaps it is best if you just saved your breath and stuck her down like you should have already.  
**

_You're not helping! _ I shout back at Arcane.

"Ok, look. I'm sorry about your friend. Is there anything I can do?"

"Ha! how about you leave and don't come back? That would be just fine with me." She arrogantly demands.

_Ouch, what the hell is with her attitude? I was just trying to apologize.  
_

**Being humble before a youkai only makes them feel stronger and encourages them to try and rule over you. You're reasoning is useless.  
**

The insect youkai speaks again before I can even get another word in. "Uh? Hello? I said I don't want to see your face again. Are you deaf too? Leave or your going to get a lot worse than a scorpion sting."

_Oh, this girl is pressing my nerves. _I say to myself. At this range, her chipper voice is more like an irritating buzz in my ears.

I throw up my arms in defeat. "You know what? You win, I'm going to go. Goodbye you freak."

I storm away from the girl and continue to make my way to the mansion. However, after only a few steps the girl reappears in front of me, floating right above the ground and blocking my path.

"Where do you think you're going? I said leave." She points back to the path I came from.

_What? I can't go back! Isn't this good enough?_

"I am leaving. I'm going to the mansion over there." I reply, hoping that she'll agree.

She flies up into my face and pushes me back a few steps. "And risk you stepping on more bugs? No way, you've done enough damage here. You're going back."

**Servant. Did I not say submission will not work? Impose your will.**

_But that will just start a fight…  
_

**Then crush her! You are in Gensokyo. Power rules here.  
**

She gives me another rude shove. "I said go home. I'm not telling you again. Do you want me to get angry? Do you?"

_Ok, that's it! I have had enough of your crap!  
_

I bring out my sword and force her back with it's hilt.

"Huh?" She floats away in disbelief. My sudden offensive position shatters her arrogance, and she reverts back to her childish nature.

Her whole body begins to tremble with fury. "Y-you! We're an important part of nature you know! Far more important than you ever will be! You need to show more respect to bugs like us"

"Yeah, and you need to show more respect to people you don't know; particularly ones that wield weapons made of dark magic from another world. I tried to be nice to you, now you aren't giving me any other choice. Get out of my way or I'll rip you apart." I growl at her. This girl has stepped on every nerve I had, and I'm ready to be done with her.

**Finally you act. Now, bring me her pain.**

She angrily glares back at me. "You aren't going to bully me aside. I'm Wriggle Nightbug! The most powerful firefly youkai in all of Gensokyo! My bugs will pick you apart before you even get close to me!"

She gathers magic as she prepares to fire danmaku. Her decision is clear: she's going to put up a fight.

Her antennas twitch and flick about for a moment. Soon, all kinds of buzzing bugs begin to fill the air. Hornets, mosquitoes, cockroaches, and fireflies all flutter around her, cleanly organized by their respective types in an unusual display. I then realize that the two antennas on her head are not ornaments, but real antenna that she is using to communicate with the other bugs.

_She can control the bugs? Oh great, this is going to be crazy. I can already tell this is going to be a hard fight._

**Her magic is weaker than the witch's, but I can sense a spell card on her. Prepare yourself for a difficult fight. This is your final test servant. Prove that you can overcome this obstacle.  
**

_Gladly._**  
**

I raise my blade towards the flying bug youkai.

"Alright, I gave you your chance. You want a fight? I'll give you a fight!" I break into a furious sprint towards Wriggle.

_ I'm not about to get stopped by some bug-loving demon I randomly ran into; I got too much at stake to give up. If she thinks she can just stop me than she's got another thing coming!_

* * *

_A/N  
_

_Thank you for reading my latest chapter. It certainly took me a while.  
_

_I realize that Wriggle could be considered a little out of character here, but I think that might be justified by Knight's actions. Youkai enemies in Touhou seem to attack the player for the stupidest reasons sometimes. I think that's because youkai are still, for the most part, monsters, and that even quiet/submissive characters have a power-hungry/aggressive side that can be appealed to with the wrong words. I wrote this part with that idea in mind, and I think it worked out well.  
_

_I rewrote this chapter many, many times while trying to decide what would happen at the lake, and ultimately I decided that I wanted this next part to be a serious challenge. I think Cirno at the lake just seemed way too obvious. So, i decided on another character that wasn't too strong but would still give Knight a chance to face a spell-card. Cirno will be in the story later though.  
_

_It's also going to be an opportunity to wrap up a minor loose-end I left behind in an earlier chapter.  
_

_Thanks again. The next chapter will be ready soon.  
_


	13. Fire Fly

I continue my charge at the youkai girl in front of me. The blade of Fiend cackles sparks with currents of red energy as I focus my will into a more powerful slash. I was going in for an all-out attack right from the start.

I know from the start that charging right at a youkai was a reckless move, but I'm hoping to catch her off guard with my sudden melee rush.

Wriggle gathers a cluster of wasps into her hands. She channels magic similar to my previous opponents. However, rather than pulling magic into her hands she gathers the energy into the wasps; turning them into living danmaku projectiles.

"Alright then, how about you try slicing through…" She winds up and throws the danmaku wasps. "THIS!"

The clouds of glowing wasps twist and whirl through the air randomly as they sail towards me.

_Here we go!_

I duck into a low run and charge right through the attack. Their enchanted stings cut at me like knives, slashing and stabbing my torso and face.

I run quickly through the cloud before I sustain any serious injuries. The bugs are too sparse to hold me back, and I successfully pass through the swarm.

I emerge from the cloud of danmaku only a few steps away from Wriggle, who goes wide-eyed when she sees me unbowed by her direct assault.

"W-whoa! Don't come any- Oof!"

I unleash a powerful slash into Wriggle. There is a loud crack from her barrier when my blade strikes her torso, but it does not break yet.

The force from the slash sends her spinning backwards. It takes her a few seconds to regain her balance.

"Mmph…" She grumbles to herself.

"Maybe you're ready to give up now?" I ask.

"Give up? Ha! Don't get cocky just because you got the first hit." She twitches her antennas and the wasps return to her side and revert to normal.

She then draws a paper token from her pocket. "Let's see how well you stand up to one of these!"

_Shit. Here comes the spell card!_

**Servant, I need you to pay attention, I have time to say this only once.**

My last encounter with this kind of power left me unconscious. I was eager for any kind of advice.

**The power of the spell card is fierce. With it, the user will be able to fuel an endless stream of widespread attacks. You must be quick to destroy it before you are overwhelmed.**

_Destroy? How?_

**By attacking them, the spell card can be disrupted and destroyed. It will take some effort, but a well-placed attack can easily destroy a spell card and end it's effects.**

_Got it. Just hit them until the spell collapses. Easy enough._

**Do not underestimate your opponent. As long as she still has a spell card and is willing to fight she can still defeat you. The witch made this mistake against you when you fought her.**

_She thought she could beat me when I was still able to fight back, and I threw her to the ground… Wriggle will probably do the same thing to me if I make the wrong move. So that's how it is around here. Defeat and victory have to be absolute or the fight isn't over. As long as Wriggle is still standing and still wants to fight, then she will._

I harden my psyche and prepare to face her fury.

_I guess I'll just have to defeat all of cards until she gives up!_

Wriggle raises the first card and unleashes the spell.

"Wriggle Sign: Nightbug Tornado!"

She outstretches her arms and begins to channel magic into all of her remaining bugs, causing them to glow bright gold in color. Slowly, the bugs around her then begin to spin around her. The bugs spin faster and faster; making a tornado of buzzing wings. I can practically see the air change as it fills with magic.

_Oh boy… this is gonna be bad._

"Haaaa…" She prepares to unleash some kind of blast. I raise my sword and prepare to block whatever kind of attack she might throw.

Then, with a loud shout she unleashes all of her pent up energy. The tornado of bugs explodes into all directions. Winged projectiles randomly fly out and shower the foggy landscape in a rain of danmaku.

I attempt to block the first few bugs that come at me, but the sheer number of attacks makes defending impossible.

The incoming bugs slam into me with intense power. I stumble back as my torso and legs are stabbed by powerful stingers and jaws. It only lasts a few seconds but I sustain several hits before it ends.

I look down at myself to see if there is any damage. Thankfully, my clothes are still holding up pretty well. Just a few scuffs; nothing went through.

Wriggle calls the bugs back to her and begins to create another cyclone.

**You will not be so lucky next time. Hurry and strike before she unleashes another barrage.**

_Right!_

I run towards Wriggle, who is still floating just above the ground. Again, I charge my blade in preparation for another focused attack. I hope that if I just keep rushing her that I'll keep her off balance.

I reach her and attempt to run through the insects as I did before, but this time the bugs do not part before my charge. I slam into a wall of danmaku and stumble backwards in pain.

_Damn. They're too thick. Maybe I can cut through._

I slash at the cyclone of bugs. My blade cleanly flies through the masses, but it only knocks a few of them aside. I try cutting more quickly, but I get no closer.

Wriggle grins at me from behind the swirling storm of wings.

_It's no good. I can't get through!_

**You fool! You are going to be struck at this range! Run!**

I try to follow Arcane's advice, but it's too late. Wriggle unleashes her burst of danmaku at almost point-blank range. My entire body is simultaneously blasted by danmaku and I am thrown backwards into the ground.

The world around me disappears as I fall into the misty ground. I lay there in pain for a few moments.

_Oooh… that hurts. I think I'm bleeding. That really hurts…_

I hold a hand up to my face to see if there is any blood. Sure enough, there are a few drops of red running down my palm leading back up my shoulder.

**You are still alive. Now stand up and face your opponent.**

_Ugh…_

**Stand! Have you come all this way to die? I demand you rise!**

I quietly push myself off the ground.

Now that I can see, I confirm my right arm was blasted pretty badly and is bleeding. It hurts, but it is certainly not deadly. Thankfully, my jacket gave a little extra protection for my chest.

I resist the pain and stand all the way up. Wriggle is only a short distance away, patiently waiting for me to stand so she can hit me again.

As soon as she sees my blood she gives me a confused look. "Ha? You're bleeding? Already? Are you really a youkai? You have to be pretty weak to… no, no youkai could possibly be hurt by that attack alone. Your defense is different, your attacks are different, and you're just all around different. What are you?"

_I guess my fighting style has been pretty strange so far._

"I'm complicated. My powers aren't from this world." I quickly reply.

"Well, it's not going to do you any good today. You picked a fight with the wrong bug, and now I'm going to make you regret it!"

She begins to charge the tornado again. If I get hit this time, then my wounds might get worse.

This time, however, I have a little plan.

_If the bugs can't stop a sword, then I bet they won't stop this._

"Mysterious Tremor."

My command goes unheard over the loud buzzing and the quickening rain. My inner magic hears regardless, and a dark green beam flies out and pierces the cyclone.

The bugs slow down as soon as Wriggle lands and doubles over on the ground. She looks about wildly, confused as to why her body is suddenly gripped by intense shakes and weariness.

"Gotcha now!" I switch to Deceiver and aim at her through the cloud of lazy bugs.

Gunshots ring out. The bullets from my pistol blast Wriggle, cracking against her barrier. At the same time, the energy in the air around her begins to waver as the card is weakened.

I don't let up my shooting. I fire every bullet into the disabled youkai. Each hit emits a louder crack than the last. But then, without warning there is a loud crash.

There is a brief flash of light as the card is dispelled. The golden energy leaves the bugs and the energy in the air quiets. Everything seems to revert to normal.

_I… did it? I destroyed a spell card! Whew! What a relief. I think I can do this after all._

**Calm yourself, servant. That was but a single, weak, card. You still have to defeat your opponent.**

_I still beat her card though. Maybe now that I've slapped a bit of sense into her she might listen to me._

The swarms of bugs scatter slowly drift away into the distance. Wriggle is left alone on the misty ground.

When she realizes her bugs are leaving, she snaps out of my spell and starts calling out for them.

"Guys? Guys? Where are you going? Hey guys!" Her antennas flick and twitch wildly, but the bugs do not respond.

The sound of me reloading the pistol gets her attention. She glares at me with burning blue eyes.

I try to reason with her again. "Wriggle, look. You're not going to beat me. I have too much to do to lose here. You're bugs are gone, and I have you in my sights. Give up now and I'll let you go."

She stands up and begins to float back into the air. She then pulls another card out. "You may have scared off those bugs… but my fireflies will never betray me. Prepare yourself!"

_That's the game then? Well I got plenty of bullets for you this time._

She unleashes the power of her next card. "Firefly Sign: Comet on Earth!"

Suddenly, a different swarm of bugs emerge from the brush. Flickering lights drift towards Wriggle and line up around her as before. Most of them are small, but a few of them are absurdly large for winged bugs; almost as large as birds.

_Fireflies? Look at the size of them! This must be her favorite lot, there's no way you can get a firefly that big without some sort of magic mojo._

The largest ones gather beside her in a formation. Then, with a wave, they all take off into the sky; flying high above me.

At first I don't notice anything. I take aim at the seemingly vulnerable Wriggle and prepare to fire.

**Above you.**

I look up and see a stream of orbs flying towards me. I hastily dive out of the way to avoid the attack.

_Whew, a bit close there. Who the hell just fired at me?_

I take a quick glance at the rainy sky. The dull lights of the giant fireflies hover high above me. The power of the spell card lends them an eerie silver glow and gives them an unnatural power. The fireflies use their power to bombard me with danmaku from above.

I dive out of the way a second time. _Shit! Another close one. Even the fireflies are shooting at me now? How do I-whoa!_

I duck down as more orbs come at me. This time, the projectiles came from Wriggle herself. It doesn't look like she's going to let her minions do all the work this time.

**Though her fellow insects have been imbued with power, they are still mere pests. Slay her support and she will be left vulnerable. All spell cards have weaknesses; look for them.**

_Got it. Time to swat a few flies then._

I aim upwards at the insects above me. Using the pistol's sights I accurately fire at the giant fireflies. A single well placed shot vanquishes each one. It takes me only a few seconds to empty the sky of all of the enemies.

But almost as soon as I do so, more firefly minions rise into the air to replace them. I shoot them down too, but even more emerge from the army of bugs behind Wriggle.

_Damn it. They just keep coming!_

**Don't waste your time on these pathetic pests. Suppress them and deal with this spell before you are overwhelmed.**

I gun down the next wave of fireflies and then lower my aim towards Wriggle. She glides sideways in an attempt to avoid the incoming attack, but my bullets are faster than her. Her barrier cracks and the card weakens, but she holds on. After a second I run out of shots and am forced to reload.

"Ha. You aren't defeating this card so easily." She taunts while throwing her orbs back at me again.

_This girl sure is cocky for someone who just got shot._

Another cluster of fireflies arise from behind her and prepare to bombard me again.

_Time to drive these minions back for good and finish this spell card off. I hope this works…_

"Explosive Anomaly!"

I conjure up the tiny bomb and hurl it towards Wriggle. The blast envelopes her and the next wave of fireflies. The fireflies perish, and her spell card fails before the intense shockwave.

"KYAAA! My eyes my eyes!" Wriggle cries out. The brilliance of the explosion seared her eyes, leaving her temporarily blind. She aimlessly drifts about while rubbing her eyes in hopes of getting the blindness out.

_Yeah! Got another card, and without getting hit this time. You're mine now!_

**A flawless display. You have utterly crushed her efforts to stop you. Now seize this opportunity and punish her.**

_Already on it. _I think while switching back to the sword.

"Ow, my eyes… What was that? Ow ow ow…" Wriggle dabs her burned eyes with her damp sleeves. She doesn't even realize that she's completely open.

I walk right up to her. She is still too blind to clearly see me.

"You should have listened to me earlier. Now, I won't hold back."

My blade tears at her barrier repeatedly. I fluidly lead one attack into another as I attempt to crush her remaining energy. The barrier cracks and creaks with each attack.

Then, with one last slice I shatter the magic. Brilliant flashes of color fly out as Wriggle's magic aura is dispelled.

The shock of the last hit blasts Wriggle away from me, and she crashes into the ground with a loud thud.

Wriggle lies in the mist for a second. All is silent save for the patter of rain. Without any immediate command, the fireflies begin to drift way.

After nearly a minute, a groan emerges from where Wriggle landed. Now a disheveled mess, she stands up and faces me again. Her arm is covered in thick slimy blood from where my last swing broke against her, and yet she still faces me.

I sigh. "There. You're done. You're magic won't save you any longer. You're cards are broken and your bugs are gone. You tried to stop me and I beat you. Admit it, you lose. Go home." I hope she'll stop this fight now. I don't want to end up seriously hurting her.

"Haaa… you get a little blood from me and think you've won… stupid… Have you been paying attention to the time? The sun's going down… the fireflies are getting brighter… I'm getting stronger… I can still beat you…" Her breath is ragged and heavy, but she stands upright with no problem.

_Where is she getting all of this strength from? How is she still so determined?_

**She weakens, and yet her confidence is increasing. This girl truly thinks she can stop you. Typical youkai pride. Show her how fragile she really is.**

_Damn it… she won't give up. I need to end this now before I get killed._

Wriggle draws another spell card. Her wounded arm shakes a little a as she holds it up to the air.

"The evening is just getting started… but tonight… we'll start our party early. Hidden Bug: Hermit of an Endless Night!"

_I was hoping that it wouldn't come to this, but I'll have to subdue her completely if I want to win. No holding back now._

I steady myself and prepare to face one more spell card.

The sound of a thousand buzzes fills the air. I look around and see that my vision is blocked in almost every direction. Every kind of winged bug is heading towards me. Over by the brush, I can see crawling bugs climb down into the misty ground and inch my way as well. My vision begins to darken as bugs fly around me from all sides.

I thought there would be danmaku this time. But then I realize the bugs themselves are danmaku.

_It's like every bug in Gensokyo is headed this way. If I don't stop this soon I'm going to suffocate!_

I begin to advance with my sword in hand, but Wriggle is already completely surrounded by bugs. I can't even see her.

If I use a spell I will be out of energy, I doubt I can beat her spell card with just one of my spells anyways. I need something else, but I don't know what.

The bugs are closing in, and I have only a few seconds left. I can't cut them away, and there are too many for just a pistol.

_Nnngh! Damn it! What do I do now? Come on… got to be something._

**What are you doing? You are going to be overtaken!  
**

_Quiet, I'm trying to think -Ack! Get off!_

I swat a centipede off my arm. At the same time, a fly lands in the gash on my shoulder and begins nibbling on the skin. I swat it off too.

"Come on my friends. Closer, closer. Come out and play with our guest." I hear her voice urge the bugs to close in on me.

"No! Stay back." I shout back as I cast off a few more bugs.

I'm out of time, bugs begin to cling and crawl on me from all directions. If I'm going to do something, I need it right now.

_Come on… think think think! I need to scare off these bugs… um… uh… fire! Fire scares bugs right? Like a torch or something. Come on powers, give me a fire!_

I frantically draw out an image of a flame in my mind, hoping that my powers will give me some sort of fire weapon I could use.

Almost as if it has a mind of its own, my dark magic powers begin to craft the simple image into a deadly weapon.

_Yes! Now hurry up and get out here!_

I summon the weapon; a heavy trigger of a gun replaces the sword handle. Without even thinking, I blindly pull the trigger and fire the weapon at the surrounding swarm.

As I pull the trigger a massive wave of heat erupts in front of me. The enclosing bugs flee before a plume of blue flames.

_Whoa! Holy shit!_

Now that the bugs have been driven away I can see what is in my hands. A large rectangle chamber houses the ammo source and the trigger which my hand is on. Running out from the chamber is a long and narrow barrel; from it hangs a grip that I hold onto with my other hand. The gun appears to be made from the same material as Deceiver, with unnatural mechanisms and dark crimson metal. It's definitely mine.

I test the trigger again, and a brief puff of fire escapes the end of the barrel.

**What a terrible device. I am truly impressed. This will surely be useful to us in the coming days.**

_Flamethrower… No fucking way! How did this happen? All I did was try to make a fire._

**You cannot make some mundane utility from your powers. I forbid it. I made you to destroy, and your powers will only do that. Now, destroy this insect!**

_I can't use this! I'll burn down the fields!_

**You will not. Use your weapon, and see for yourself.**

I hesitantly test the flamethrower at the ground. The fiery energy is exactly like the pistol's, except for it being in actual fire form rather than bullet form. The fire steams the fog and blackens the ground, but it does not catch or spread like an actual fire.

_Ok… I have a flamethrower that runs on magic energy… this is getting weird._

Bugs begin to close in on me again.

_No time to argue. Time to finish Wriggle off before she wipes me out!_

I throw a switch on the side of the weapon and the top half of the ammo box pops open. Conjuring the energy for a weapon of this size is far more demanding than my pistol, but I manage to do so without problem.

I create a fat block made entirely out of fiery energy and slam it into the gun. I throw the hatch shut and the weapon roars back to life, now fully loaded.

_Alright, here we go!_

I unleash waves of incendiary energy towards the bugs in front of me. Even with the rain and mist, the heat is absolutely devastating. The bugs scurry away from the intense power of the dark flames, clearing a path in front of me. Using the flamethrower, I work my way towards Wriggle. Wriggle begins to back away.

"Wh-whoa… h-hey I'm warning you… don't come any closer… This isn't very nice. I'm sorry about what I said earlier. Just don't bring that thing any closer. H-hey, are you listening? Stop. Stop! Please stop! Stop already! Stop stop stop! Aaahh! Stopstopstopstop!" Wriggle's panic increases as I get closer. It's clear this girl has a fear of fire.

With only a few steps away, the last of the bugs scatter, leaving her defenseless. I point the barrel towards her.

However, I don't shoot. Hurting her will only give Arcane what he wants, and I don't want to do that.

Instead I make one last effort to chase her away; this time as a simple demand.

"Get out of here."

Wriggle stands there frozen for a moment, unsure of how to respond.

_Ugh._

I barely tap the trigger, sending a flash of heat into Wriggle's face.

Wriggle's insect instincts activate. Her natural fear of fire overwhelms her and she takes off with a loud shriek.

The spell card is abandoned and dissipates, and all is quiet save for the sound of rain. I stand there for a moment; nothing happens. It appears that I won.

**Hmph. A half-hearted effort. You should have destroyed her.**

_I won't pointlessly hurt people. I'm not like you. _I flatly think back.

**Soon, it won't make any difference.**

_What?_

**It is not important. You did well enough for your first encounter with a spell card. You should move on before night comes.**

The skies are starting to turn black, and the rain is still getting worse.

_Yeah… I guess so._

I slowly turn back towards the mansion in the distance. It is still a ways off.

During my walk I examine the flamethrower in my hands. Now that the rush of the fight is wearing off, I realize this weapon is absurdly heavy for its given size. It looks man-portable, but an ordinary human wouldn't be able to carry this weapon on their own.

_Powerful and chaotic, but way too costly for normal use. I best save this one for when I really need it. I still can't believe this came from my mind. It makes me feel like I have a mass murderer in my subconscious or something._

**Will you not give it a title?**

_You too? Fine, if I'm going to go with this silly naming thing than I may as well go with it all the way. Chaos works just fine; that's what it does after all. Now then…_

I release the flamethrower, now named Chaos, and it goes back into my mental arsenal. I'm glad to be rid of it's weight.

I quicken my pace and head towards the mansion. It will still take me a few minutes to get there.

_I hope I can learn something useful here… heck, I hope I can just get in. Reimu said nobody is allowed inside. I'm going to have to come up with something other than weapons and magic to get through this time._

I sigh.

"Looks like it's gonna be a long night too." I mutter to myself.

With chaos now following me in more than one way, I head towards the Scarlet Devil Mansion in hopes of finding the knowledge to help me on my quest to defeat the dark presence in my mind.

I may have overcome a powerful foe today, but I can't even begin to imagine what sort of things I will find in this mansion.

* * *

A/N

Thank you for reading my latest chapter. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it.

I think it's interesting how characters in Touhou project fight each other so willingly. Even as the player defeats each card, one after the other, they continue to fight. You'd have to be pretty confident to make such a bold gamble with your own health, and I wanted to try and give a more realistic logic for this. I thought the setting sun, and the lakeside bugs being confidence boosters made sense for Wriggle.

I wanted to make this an interesting challenge seeing as it is the first time he faces and defeats a character from the series. The people of Gensokyo are powerful supernatural beings. Even though Knight is capable of creating world bending magic and destructive weaponry, he is still facing old and powerful spirits. I wanted to illustrate the challenges of a new power trying overcome the older and more experienced ones. This is just a stage one boss, now imagine what it might take to defeat an even stronger boss! It won't all be blood and battle, but it will be interesting for sure.

Anyways, thanks again. The next chapter will be ready soon. Feel free to leave a review and let me know how I did.


	14. Invitation

A distant grumble of thunder can be heard as I approach the mansion. Night is coming, and the rain has become an outright downpour. The mist from the lake seems to be increased by the rain, and has become even thicker.

Standing out against the shadow of the storm is the Scarlet Devil Mansion. It's not too much further now.

"Scarlet Devil Mansion huh? Looks more like a fortress to me."

The building and grounds combined make it almost as large as any castle. The structure is made of finely chiseled crimson stone, and is topped with high slanted roofs and elaborate spires. However, the lack of windows makes it look more like a fortress than anything else. Standing high above the smaller towers is an old English clock tower, currently marking the time as just before eight o' clock.

Protecting the estate is a relatively tall wall which is also crafted from stained red stone. The walls are completely smooth and have no weaknesses that someone could use to climb over. The only way through the wall is a heavy iron gate.

_Hmm… it doesn't look like anyone's around… maybe the gate itself is supposed to keep people out? Do I just pass through if I want to go in then?_

I approach the gate, which is standing quietly by itself. I glance in between the bars of the gate, but it doesn't look like anyone's around.

_Do I just… open it? _I grab the hefty iron handle and give it a tug.

It does not give. I push instead, but it won't budge that way either.

_Damn. Is it locked? I don't see any kind of lock on it. Maybe it got rusty from the rain?_

**This petty barrier can not withstand your might. Break it.**

The gate doesn't look too intimidating, but I don't want to break it down.

_No, I can't do that. I need these people's help and I won't be able to get that if I piss them off by breaking their gate down. Maybe there's something I missed…_

I look around and examine the gate, but I find nothing.

_Ugh… come on, do something!_

I take a few steps back so I can examine the gate as a whole. There doesn't appear to be anything unusual about it. It seems like I'm stuck. Frustrated, I grab the handle and slam it against the gate, creating a loud clash.

Then, there is a breeze. Like a chilly breath creeping on the side of my neck. I suddenly catch the combined fragrance of roses and blood.

"We've all been expecting you. Please, do come in."

I shudder and spin around to face the voice, but no one is there.

_Who-_

Then without warning, the heavy iron gate opens on it's own. The bars creak and groan as they slide along the ground. It takes nearly a half minute for the gates to completely open.

I stand there staring at the now open gate.

_Does this mean I'm invited?_

**This bodes ill.**

_Huh? How? This is perfect! I can get right in with no problem at all now. I was afraid I was going to have try and sneak my way in or something._

**…**

I disregard Arcane's warning and walk through the gate and down the walkway. Strangely enough, the walls repel the majority of the fog, and I can see the grounds surround the building. There is a rather impressive garden on either side of the walkway, and a large courtyard leading up to the front door.

_Man, this place is huge. I wonder what kind of person lives here. Reimu said the librarian I need to talk to is friends with a powerful person, but this isn't what I thought she meant by 'power'._

The front of the mansion towers over me as I walk towards the wooden doors. I begin to reach out with a hand to push the door, but it automatically opens like the gate; swinging inward to reveal the shadowy halls inside. I feel another fragrant breeze flow out from the interior and wrap all around me, almost as if it's trying to draw me in.

_Well… I'm expected right? I guess I just go on in._

I step inside the mansion and out of the rain. Once inside, the doors behind me close on their own.

_Whew. Glad to be out of that rain. _I think to myself as I wipe the moisture off my face and clothes.

I look around at the grand entry hall. The tall roof and walls are made from elegant architecture. Aside from a few candles on the wall, there is only a little light. The shadows are unnaturally thick here, and the few tufts of mist that have made their way in from the lake have taken on an eerie scarlet hue.

I'm beginning to have second thoughts about coming here. This place looks like an evil villain's lair.

_Geez, what is with this place? Talk about creepy! Maybe I shouldn't have been so ready to jump in to a place that has 'Devil' in it's name._

**The air is thick with oppressive power and cruel energies. Be on you guard.**

I agree, and hesitantly walk forward through the grand hall. My wet footsteps and the flickering of the candles are the only noise around. The occasional wave of scarlet mist floats past me while I walk, bringing a strong scent of blood along with it. The whole place has an oppressive feel to it, like someone is watching me.

Once I exit the entry hall, I enter a large round chamber with a chandelier. There is more light here than in the previous rooms, but that's the only difference. There are six halls spreading out in each different direction. Each hall is similar to the others, and I'm not sure which one to take.

_Maybe I wait here… or trying calling for someone?_

"Hello? Is anyone here?" I call out to the halls.

For a while, there is no response. But soon there is the sound of fluttering wings.

_That sounds like… fairies?_

From one of the halls emerges a small floating figure. A fairy approaches me dressed in a classic maid outfit; compete with headdress.

_What the heck? Why a maid outfit?_

**Some useless employee here. **

"Uh, Hello?" I hesitantly greet the strange fairy.

She makes a polite bow, but says nothing. She points to the hall she came from and beckons for me to follow.

"Alright, lead the way." _I hope this isn't a mistake._

The fairy moves down the hall and I follow. She flies quickly and I almost have to jog to keep up. During our travel we pass several doors and intersecting hallways.

_This place is massive! I would hate to get lost in here. Especially with all of this creepy mist. And this blood smell… just who is this person anyways?_

I continue to follow the fairy until we finally reach a large double door that is different from the rest. The fairy pushes it open and motions for me to go inside.

There doesn't appear to be anything special about this room. It's a very large, empty room with a pair of fancy chairs facing another one on the opposite end of the room. There is red carpet instead of stone, and a pair of chandeliers offer good lighting here.

"What is this? A meeting room?" I ask.

The fairy still does not talk. Instead, she leads me the lone chair and has me sit in it.

"Ok…" I take a seat in the chair. "Now what?"

The fairy turns away from me and whistles loudly to the door. Almost instantly, another fairy enters.

The two whisper to each other. I realize that one of them is pointing at the wound on my arm.

The gash is still bleeding a little, but the rain had cleaned it up pretty well. It just needs to be closed.

"Oh, this. Ah… Do you have any bandages or something?" I ask.

One of the fairies pulls out a bottle of syrupy liquid and floats over to my arm.

"You must not show blood in front of the mistress. It is disrespectful to tempt her." The fairy whispers as she pours the stinging liquid on the wound.

_Ah! Ow! Yeowch! That stings!_

**Cease your complaining. I do not wish to hear it.**

I keep my arm still and let the fairy finish pouring the liquid. Right when she finishes, the wound suddenly closes and the skin reverts to normal. I test my shoulder, and it seems to be fully healed.

I'm glad to be relieved of the soreness. "Whew, thanks."

She bows and the two fairies leave.

_But… what did she mean by tempt? Just what kind of person lives here?_

I sigh and sink back into the chair. This place is beginning to give me a headache.

Then, the door opens again. I sit up so I can see who it is.

Entering first is a young girl. She has a pinkish cap and dress; both tied with red ribbons and trimmed with expensive looking silk. More noticeably, is the wings on her back. The leathery bat wings on her back are almost as long as she is tall. A familiar fragrance coming from her hints that she is the one who invited me in at the gate.

Overall, she has a dark and imposing presence. She regards me with her demonic red eyes and a conservative smile, sending a chill down my spine.

_This must be the owner. Best keep my cool here; I still need the help of her friend._

Right behind her is a much taller figure. A young woman dressed like a maid, and has bright silver hair. She has a calm demeanor, and maintains the elegance of her master in front of her. She does not acknowledge me.

_And this must be the master's servant… she looks normal enough… but who's that she has with her?_

The maid has her hand on another young girl. A short blond dressed much more casually than anyone else; wearing a red shirt and skirt lacking any frills or silk, and a cap matching the first girl's. She has a rather impressive display on her back: a pair of gnarled rods jutting out like wings are decorated with large crystal prisms of various colors.

She is being guided by the maid's hand, and is looking downward as if uncomfortable.

The two young girls each take the two seats facing mine. The maid politely stands at her master's side. The two girls stare at me from the opposite end of the room; the maid seems to stare off into nothing. Nothing is said, and no introductions are given.

**Servant, you must be cautious before these creatures. They are vampires. I also believe the human may be some breed of magician.**

_Vampires? Like… blood-sucking monster vampires?_

**I do not know the extent of that… but yes, they are. I know this kind of power all too well.**

Suddenly, being stared at has become very scary.

_They're just staring… did I do something wrong? Are they going to try and take my blood?_

Silence continues for several minutes. The blond girl begins to kick at her chair impatiently, and the older-looking girl begins to fiddle with her blue hair.

"Hm… boring. Impossibly boring. I honestly don't know what that girl was talking about." The pink vampire suddenly speaks up. She speaks with a surprising maturity for her given appearance.

_Boring? What?_

"I'm sorry? Look, my name is Knight I'm here because-"

The vampire hushes me with a wave of her hand. "I know why you're here. You're here because I let you in, and meeting with Patchouli to ask for help with your powers is what you are trying to accomplish by coming here."

_How did she know that? _"Er… right. So, is there any problem?"

She sighs. "Yes. The problem is that the reason that I let you in appears completely unfounded. I was told by that magician that you were an interesting person, but I have no idea how she got such a notion. You're uninteresting, you talk in an uninteresting manner, you have an uninteresting appearance, and you have a dark and uninteresting fate. You are no more interesting than anyone else I know."

_How the hell did she pull fate out of all that? And who told her about me? What does she mean by uninteresting? This girl is being way too mysterious! I need to cut to the chase and get on with this._

I reply more forcefully this time. "Well I'm sorry to disappoint, but I really need to speak with Patchouli. So if you don't mind?"

She chuckles. "Ah, but I do mind. You see, I have this problem you've given me now. How can I repay your kindness before you've helped me?"

_What does this girl expect me to do for her then? I'm not an entertainer. _"What do you have in miss… um…"

"Ah? Did I not introduce myself? How careless of me. I am Remilia Scarlet, the head of the Scarlet Devil Mansion." She proudly introduces herself.

She then gestures to the red clad vampire next to her. "This sweet girl next to me is Flandre Scarlet, my younger sister. Flandre, say hello to our guest. Be polite, just like I taught you."

"U-um… Good evening s-sir… You can call… I mean… I am… Flan… um… Flandre Scarlet. It's a…um… pleasure to meet you sir." Her manners are forced, but she manages to finish with a straight face.

Remilia nods and then motions to her maid. "And this is my beloved servant, Sakuya Izayoi. If it were not for my dear maid, I don't know where I would be."

She gives an elegant curtsey. "Good evening sir." She is polite, and mimics her master's sophisticated attitude.

She then points to me. "And you, Knight… since you aren't interesting to me, you'll have to entertain me instead."

The way she said 'entertain' makes me think she has something else in mind.

"Ok… what is it then?" I ask.

She grins. "I have a lovely idea I'd like to try. But first, there is one other person I'd like to introduce you to."

Remilia leans forward and shouts to the door.

"Meiling. Please come in."

The door bursts open and reveals a tall, shapely woman in a dark green Chinese-style dress. The gold star and beret on her long red hair makes her look like some kind of officer, even if the dress is more revealing than it should be for a soldier.

My officer theory is further supported when she jogs into the room and makes a soldierly salute to Remilia.

"Yes Mistress! Hong Meiling is here reporting for duty, Mistress!" She tries to sound serious, but her ditzy attitude and voice makes it hard for me to take her seriously.

Remilia sighs. "This… is Meiling… my dearest gate guard. She would be the one who would greet you if I had not invited you."

I ignore her and try to press my point again. "Ok, so now that all of us are introduced. Let's get this thing done. You said you had some kind of idea?"

Remilia chuckles. "Ohoho! So eager to start. I think we are going to get along just fine tonight. Now then…"

_Here we go…_

**Prepare yourself. Nothing good will come of this.**

"You see, thanks to a recent, and rather absurd, incident-"

"Taisui Xingjun was a very serious incident, Mistress! I have never done anything absurd, Mistress!" Meiling proclaims in her defense.

Remilia looks towards her. "Meiling, please… You see, my dear woman here was seen fighting a very strange opponent recently. Now, Meiling herself is seen as a bit strange…"

"I am not strange, Mistress! I do everything on the name of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Mistress!"

"Hong Meiling!"

It is Sakuya who responds. Her cold glare pierces Meiling like a knife, causing the enthusiastic guard to quiet down.

Remilia continues again. "And now, no one will take her seriously anymore. I used to enjoy watching her fights against those who tried to intrude on my mansion, but without that… I fear I have grown rather bored. Thus, I'm left with two people who need to entertain me. But I have come up with an idea."

She then holds up a small book. A manga book at that. It looks manufactured, so it's probably from Kourindou.

"You see, there is this oddity I've heard about from the outside recently. I believed it is called a… what was it… a 'game show' I believe?"

_Game show? No… no way… you have got to be kidding me!_

Remilia grins when she sees my look of horror. "Ah, so you know of this then. Good. Then I will be brief. I want you to compete against Meiling in a little game I've set up. It's nothing complicated I assure you."

_Like hell it is… there's no telling what she's come up with._

I grit my teeth, but remain silent.

Everyone is waiting for Remilia to continue, but she leaves a dramatic silence. She appears to be enjoying the suspense.

After a moment, she continues. "The rules are simple. I have a jewel here." She pulls out a large ruby cut in the shape of a bat. "In a moment, I will have Sakuya place this jewel in the mansion. I will then have both of you placed on opposite ends of the mansion. The both of you will race to find and retrieve this jewel, and bring it back to me here. If you win, then I'll allow you to come and go as you please, and allow you to ask for the favor of anyone here. You will be a permanent honored guest."

Flandre then speaks up against her sister. "Just a race? Aww… that's boring! Big sis, you said this would be fun!"

I thought Remilia would scold her sister's outburst, but 'boring' seems to be the word she was waiting for.

"Of course I wouldn't make it boring, my sweet Flandre. So, to make things more interesting, I have ordered all of the maids in the mansion to stop you by any means. And should you encounter each other, you are also allowed to use any means to stop the other. That shouldn't be a problem for you Knight, should it?" She finishes with a sickening sweetness.

_This girl is nuts. She's going to try and kill me for fun! But… I've come all this way. I have to play along if I want to get anywhere._

"Of course not…" I weakly reply.

Remilia smiles a devilish smile. "Perfect. Then it's settled."

"B-but Mistress. Will I get a prize if I win, Mistress?" Meiling sheepishly asks.

Remilia chuckles. "Oh, but of course Meiling. I would certainly want you to do your best now wouldn't I? Would a nice two week vacation suffice? I'm sure you would like a nice reward for your valiant defense against that… thing."

Meiling nearly falls over in surprise. "M-Mistress? Are you sure? Oh Mistress! Oh, it most certainly would Mistress! I will do my best for you, Mistress!"

_Bought out so easily… and she's practically on fire now. This is going to be difficult._

"Good. Now that everything is settled… Sakuya, please lead Knight to his starting point." Remilia orders.

Sakuya soundlessly walks over to me. I stand up and she leads me out the door and back down the halls. Neither of us say a word the whole time.

Soon, we reach my starting point. It takes me a second to realize that this is the entrance hall.

_So I start at the front door… then all the way down there, in the back of the mansion, Meiling is not only going to be racing me, but trying to stop me as well._

Sakuya takes a glass ball out of her pocket and drops it in the air. It remains floating, and drifts over to my side.

"This is so My Lady can see you and Meiling. Please do not destroy it." She explains.

I nod. "Sure thing."

"When Meiling and the jewel are both in place, the viewing glass will glow and you may start searching for the target. Good luck." She finishes with a polite bow.

I thank her and she turns away.

But just as I think she's beginning to leave, she turns back to face me.

"Knight… I understand that you have many questions, and that you are worried about your situation. I assure you that you have not made a mistake in searching for Patchouli's aid. Unfortunately, you will also have to deal with My Lady's childish game tonight. In the interest of your success, I will give you a hint: the fairies have been ordered to _guard_ the target jewel. Look for them and follow them back to it."

_Whoa… maybe this maid is on my side after all._

"Thanks Sakuya… that means a lot to me."

She silently turns back and wanders back into the dark and misty halls, leaving me and the viewing crystal alone in the entry hall.

_Well… this is just great. I get invited to play some battle game for a kid's fun. Just great, really. At least the maid is on my side though._

**I warned you this would not end well. But, you seem to have earned a favorable situation. With this knowledge, you should have no problem out maneuvering that guard. For now, take these last few minutes to rest and prepare to move.**

_Yeah, probably should do that. I'm going to need full strength._

I take a seat on the cold ground and wait for my crystal to light up.

I've locked myself in a deadly game, and if I want to continue I'm going to have to beat her champion in a battle race through the mansion.

_I don't know how I get into these situations sometimes. Still, I can't lose to some race._

I look at the silently floating orb.

_If she wants a show, then I'll sure as hell give her one. I'm not losing tonight!_

* * *

_A/N  
_

_Thank you for reading my latest chapter. I had a lot of fun writing this one.  
_

_Initially, this chapter was going to take a completely different direction. I got this idea of having Knight get invited to some twisted party idea that Remilia has, and I thought it worked out better. I wanted to show that, even if invited, the SDM isn't the kind of place you want to go, and I thought i better displayed Remilia's manipulative/playful nature.  
_

_This chapter also showcases a lot of characters. Up to this point, Knight has only encountered one or two characters at a time while roaming the wilds. Now that he's in a more populated place, there would naturally be a lot of people he might run into. I was worried that this chapter might be too crowded. I sort of suppressed some of the character's personalities here with Remilia's presence; I didn't want to crowd the chapter with everyone's loud personalities, and realistically I think the resident's would be more reserved in the presence of their master... except Meiling, who is kind of loud-mouthed to begin with.  
_

_Thanks again, the next chapter will be ready soon. Be sure to review and let me know what you think.  
_


	15. Death Race

Time passes slower and slower for me.

Nothing has happened yet. Sitting here in the entry hall is intense knowing that a youkai woman and a whole mansion of fairies are going to try and stop you.

Next to me, a magic viewing crystal floats in place, still a dull smoke color. Any second, it is supposed to light up and start the game.

But, the anticipation is killing me. I'm really getting to think that I don't do well with long waits.

_Ugh… come on! Do something already!_

**Be silent, and wait. The magic inside the crystal stirs. It will be soon.**

_Good. Sitting around this creepy mansion is enough for me._

I sit patiently on the cold floor while I wait for the start. Somewhere in this mansion is a ruby jewel that I need to retrieve and return to Remilia. Sakuya has told me that the fairies have it, but I still have to find them.

If I can win, I get to meet Patchouli and continue on my little quest. My opponent, Hong Meiling, has been bribed to do her best to beat me. I can only assume the fairies have been given some equivalent deal if they can stop both of us.

_It'll be tough, but I got the upper hand.  
_

As soon as I finish that thought there is a flickering sound. The crystal comes to life, and emits a dull pearly light. It shoots upwards and watches me from afar.

_It's active. The vampires are watching this now…_

**Move quickly servant. Your opponent is strong, and your advantage will not last forever.**

I jump up and begin to a run down the entry hall and back into the large intersection. Six halls are in front of me and their all alike. No fairies and no Meiling.

_Which way? If I choose the wrong way, I might end up going farther away from the target._

_Sakuya said the fairies have it… maybe I can tempt them into coming to me and see what hall they come from._

"Hey fairies! I'm right here! You want to fight me? Come at me then!" I shout into the halls.

I feel silly shouting threats to no apparent individual, but it works just as planned. A fairy maid emerges from the darkness of the rightmost hall.

Her crystal eyes are not kind and obedient. Instead, her eyes were narrowed to slits; she is clearly determined.

Without any introductions or formalities, she reaches into her pocket and draws a blade. With her being a maid I might have suspected some kind of improvised weapon, but it's a real dagger; as long as my hand and a wicked curve.

Her free hand begins to glow with magic as well.

_Danmaku too? These guys aren't kidding around!_

Armed with a blade and magic, the maid lunges at me while flinging danmaku. I draw my sword and prepare to take down the attacker.

**This one does not matter. Cut through quickly.**

_Alright, she came from the right hall. Time to move. Out of my way fairy!_

I sidestep the slow projectiles and slash at the fairy. She successfully brings her knife against my blade in a block, but her small razor doesn't stop my swing. My attack gashes the fairy open, and she burst into dust.

I run past the defeated fairy and head down the hall she came from.

I don't encounter anyone immediately, but after passing a few side corridors, I find a few more fairies. One of them spots me and points at me excitedly.

"There! That's one of them! Come on girls!"

The small cluster of fairies grows larger as more maids join from a narrow side corridor.

_Ok, next right. Just need to slip past this lot._

The fairies fly at me to meet my charge. These maids are well armed too. The fairies heft human-sized weapons with little effort. Swords, daggers, hammers, spears, axes, and other medieval weapons are all deployed against me. They all look quite skilled, and many of them have even opted for dual wielding or two-handed weapons over their weak danmaku.

_What the hell? Is there an arsenal here or something?_

**Hmph. These fairies aren't fools like those in the wild. Cut them out of your way and run past.**

The danmaku attack is light, and I slip past it with ease. It's the weapons I need to worry about.

The fairies all lunge at me with their weapons. My quick swordsmanship drives them back, but they land a few hits on me. A hatchet cuts my chest and a pair of daggers scrape my back.

"Ngh! Damn it, get out of here!" I swing again and again. More fairies fall to my strikes, but they're still good enough to keep up with me.

_Shit! These fairies know how to use a weapon! _I curse to myself as another clash of steel rings out.

The fairies eventually start losing numbers, and I see an opening.

_I think I can run for it. Here goes!_

I duck underneath one of the fairies and head to the side hall where the others came from. The fairies I left behind flutter after me.

I turn right. The hall here is much narrower, and I have less room to move around with.

Another group of armed fairies slowly makes their way to me from the halls to the left.

**Cut them away!**

_Right. On it._

I charge up and unleash a powerful slash into the array, scattering them into dust and clearing the way. A few survive, but I leave them behind and run for the next hall.

I turn left here and encounter a defensive line. A cluster of maids armed with swords and shields forms a solid barricade that fills the hall ahead. The shields cover most of their small bodies, and the swords jut out like a wall of spikes.

**Armor. Hm… This might be a problem.**

_Might be a good time to call up Chaos. _

I summon the weapon and begin to reload it. As soon as I open it the fairies I left behind catch up with me. One of them rushes at me and forces me to block with the barrel of the gun.

_Whoa! That was close I got to buy me some time real quick._

"Explosive Anomaly!" I unleash my spell and create a destructive bomb that blows away a few of the fairies. The blast clears them away for a few seconds.

I quickly finish reloading Chaos, slamming the ammo hatch shut. The flamethrower roars to life and I unleash a wave of blue flames into the shields. The fire creeps between their armor line, and scorches them.

I keep up the flames for a few seconds until they begin to die off. Dust floats down and shields clatter against the floor.

As the shields fall down and make noise, more fairy maids emerge from the darkness at the far end of the hall to investigate.

_Straight ahead next._

I step over the fallen defenders and rush towards the next group of fairies. But as I do, they back up and retreat. I chase them back all the way to a flight of stairs. It appears to be a second floor.

**The air above is thick with their magic. Their numbers are great. You are almost there.**

I quickly run up the spiral stairs, and the fairies behind are right after me.

At the top of the staircase, the halls are very narrow and dark. Small doors leading into fairy-sized rooms dot the entire hall. It looks like a servant's living area.

_There are a lot of hiding places here. It's got to be close._

I run down the halls and past all the rooms until I reach an intersection. On my left is a short hall leading to what looks like some kind of large room. The room is lit and the doors are cracked open.

**There… that room. Their anticipation gives them away. It must be in there. Expect an ambush.**

The fairies are right behind me, and I have no time to pause. I rush into the room.

The room is a large lounge room, possibly for the fairies off time. On the far wall is an unlit fireplace, and on it is the bat shaped ruby.

_There it is! _I rush forward and take it off the fireplace and pocket it.

As I turn around, I find the ambush. Floating above the doorway and along the roof are at least fifty fairies. They float down and join the few who have been following me. They all line up and create a semi-circle around me.

_Damn, no way out! I can't take them all down with Chaos; the demand for it's reload is too much. I'll be out of energy before I beat them all. Time to cut my way out. _

I switch to my sword again and rush forward at the fairy maids. I slash and cut at their lineup, but they give no ground. I try powering through them with a charged attack, but only a few fall, and they are quickly replaced. I just can't handle this many like this. They slash back at me and push me backwards with their attacks. They're closing in, and I'm running out of room.

**Hmph. Thick like weeds. They just need to be uprooted properly.**

_So many! If I switch to one of the guns they'll overrun me in a second! If only I had something that could chase them off… chase off… that might work!_

_Ok powers, I need a way out. Let's make this work._

My mysterious abilities respond to my desperate situation. I am able to draw out a weapon and forge it with my magic. It takes only a few seconds to finish the design.

_Whew, done! This is getting easier… not sure if that's good or not though. Anyways, time to turn the tables._

I've set this up for a more psychological hit than actual effectiveness. I was able to scare Wriggle, maybe I can scare off all these fairy maids.

I take a deep breath and give my best sinister voice "Alright, Remilia. I hope you can see this one. Here it is! Come on out, Nightmare!"

There is no point to announcing my weapon summons, but I wanted to make sure the fairies heard the name I came up with that time. Judging by their frightened faces, I think I might actually make this work.

I summon the new weapon that I've created and plant it upright for the fairies to see.

The long staff is made from strange hazy dark blue metal, rather than shiny crimson that the guns have. The weight at the base and head look like mechanical devices rather than actual weights, giving the old-fashioned weapon a mechanized look. Jutting out of the head is the blade itself; a wide faintly curved blade that is dark gray in color.

Nightmare is, of course, a scythe; the scariest weapon I could think of.

Whereas Arcane's weapon is a fine, normal sword, my attempt at a melee weapon is a mechanical hybrid made of dark technology and unnatural alloys. A normal looking scythe would have been fearsome in it's own right, but this thing looked like a real nightmare, living up to it's name.

The fairies around me slowly begin to back off.

I continue my act cheap dramatization and the fairies buy into it. "Ha. Now then, which one of you wants to go first?" I whirl the vicious blade over my head and bring it down in front of me.

That trips some alarms, and in a way I wasn't expecting.

"H-he's… No way!"

"Sh… Shinigami! Shinigami! Nooooo!"

"I don't want to go yet! Leave me alone!"

"Eeeeyaaa! I quit I quit!"

"A shinigami is against us? I quit, I don't want to die for this!"

"At least Flandre won't send me to Higan! This is too much, I quit too!"

The fairies begin to throw down their weapons and zoom out of the room. Those who are confident enough to stay eventually loose faith as their allies depart. Soon, they all leave.

_They… they thought I was a shinigami? Why? I didn't think I was that intimidating._

**Shinigami often have world bending powers and favor powerful scythe weapons. You fit their stereotype… the fools.**

_Well now that that's done I'll just… er… well, never mind._

As the last fairy flies out someone else steps in. A familiar woman clad in a green Chinese-style dress approaches.

"Hey everyone, what's the matter… you!" She jumps back when she sees me.

_Oh no, it's Meiling. Is she going to try and stop me? What should I say? Maybe I'll see what she has in mind first._

I try testing her. "Hey, Meiling. Already coming after me I see. Gave up on looking for the jewel yourself? Or are you're here for something else?"

She steps back into a battle stance; her fists raised and ready to strike. "Of course I'm here for the jewel! Now where are you hiding it? I know you just frightened the fairies into telling you where it is. Where is it? Where? Tell me! Tell me, and I'll go easy on you."

Her voice slowly loses it's cheery tone. She's almost emotionless now.

_Whoops, I think I may have been a bit too harsh there. She might be ditzy around her master, but she takes threats seriously. She doesn't know for sure where the jewel is. Maybe I can trick her._

"Where is it?" She demands again.

"The fairies didn't know. You're guess is as good as mine." I lie to her.

A quick flick of her wrist sends a bolt of rainbow energy at me. I duck under it and face her again.

"Don't lie to me. I can tell you know something, it's all over your face. Now where? Don't you dare lie again." She threatens.

_Damn. She's not buying it. I guess a guard would know something dealing with liars._

I sigh. I'm already regretting what I'm about to do. _If I'm going to have fight her, then I definitely don't want her angry. Time to be honest..._

My scythe makes a menacing whirl as I swing it through the air and bring it in front of me.

"Sorry Meiling, but the truth is that I already have it. This game is mine. Get out of the way."

She clenches her fist, and it begins to glow with rainbow colored energy. "I will not lose, Knight. If you already have it… then I have no choice but to take it from you."

She rushes towards me. I swing my heavy scythe at her and she retreats from the wide slash. Nightmare is as tall as me, so my longer reach can keep her at bay, but only barely. She's very tall and very fast, and if I slow even once she won't take but a second to reach me.

I keep up pressure and continue to drive her away with my wide swipes. I push her all the way to the door and almost out of the room. But as soon as she reaches the door, she makes her move against me.

Using incredible athleticism, she jumps up and grabs the top of the door and hoists herself on top of it; balancing on top of the threshold. She leaps off it and flies at me from high above.

I raise Nightmare to block her, but she just vaults off the staff and over my head. She lands behind me and takes me down with a powerful throw.

"Guh!" I land on my back. Meiling walks over and kneels down on top of me. Her powerful legs hold me down as she frantically pats me down and searches for the jewel on me. She does not seem to notice it in my left pants pocket because she's crushing it under her foot.

She soon gives up on searching by herself and grabs me by the collar of my jacket. "Where did you put it? Hand it over! I'll crush your stubborn head in if you keep playing stupid."

_Grrrr…. Get off!_

I'm still holding onto the scythe, and I use the butt of the staff to strike her. She loses balance and falls off me. I get up before she can pounce me again.

I run down the halls and back to the spiral staircase.

"Get back here!" Meiling calls from behind. She's flying after me very quickly, and I won't be able to outrun her.

**Turn and fight or you will be struck from behind.**

I summon Nightmare back and prepare to ward her off again. I spin around with my bladed weapon and swing at the air in a warning slash.

"Back off!" I shout to her.

"Not a chance." She slows down and lands in a battle stance again.

My scythe swings could fill the entire width of this hall. There is no way she can get over or around me without going through my blade. I use this advantage and keep her back while I slowly retreat the nearby stairs. Meiling slowly advances with me.

_She's not giving up. I can't fight her down the stairs like this. I have to buy some time._

I focus my attacks just like with the sword. The staff whirrs and rumbles in my hands as the machines activate.

_Whoa… this isn't like your sword… what's it doing?_

**You could never match the sophistication required to refine a blade to that level. But you can still focus your melee attacks with your own weapons as well. With it being a machine, this may achieve an interesting effect.**

_Alright then… let's see what this thing can do!_

I rush forward at Meiling and swing at her. The powered scythe swing generates a wide blade of deep red energy that shoots out of the weapon. The energy swing flies only a short distance, but it still catches Meiling off guard, and she stumble back as she hastily blocks the attack.

_So my scythe can be powered up to shoot blades of energy. Ha! It might be hard to use, but it covers all the bases. My powers might be a little messed up, but I make some interesting things sometimes._

I turn my back to Meiling and run.

_Now, down the stairs. I only know one way to get back to Remilia, and that's from the entrance hall._

I practically fall down the stairs as I try to get away from the pursing youkai.

I begin to run down the halls to where I started. Straight, right, left, straight. It does not take me too long to navigate backwards.

I arrive in the entry intersection, but Meiling does not. She isn't following me anymore.

_Where is she? I bet she's trying to cut me off. I have to hurry._

I head down the hall to where the meeting room is. Everything remains quiet.

_This is bad. She's waiting for me, I know it!_

For a while, I don't see anyone. Eventually, I see the elaborate door leading to the where Remilia is.

In front of the door is Meiling. As I had feared, she knows the layout of the mansion better than me. I've been intercepted, and now must face her directly.

"You will not take one more step this way. I am Hong Meiling, Gate Keeper of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. I have forty lifetimes of experience compared to your one. I will give you no ground! Prepare yourself! "

_Uh oh. She's gone into her guard mode now. She's definitely not going to let me past now._

**There is only a short distance left. Turn aside her defense and you will win.**

She summons and loudly declares her spell card. "Colorful Sign: Colorful Light Chaotic Dance!"

She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, and slowly begins to move. She starts doing what looks like some kind of martial arts dance. Her dance steps lead into precise strikes, and the flowing movements are as aggressive as they are beautiful.

Each movement sends out a stream of rainbow energy. The energy forms large bolts that soar at me.

_Whoa. Look at that danmaku! I hope I can block this._

I summon my sword and use it to block the bullets that head towards me. Each clash against my sword sends a terrible jolt up my arm. The bullets begin to curve and swerve as they try and bypass my blade, making blocking difficult. It's as if I'm actually fighting her from all the way over here.

_What is this? This danmaku is different. It's like she's right here in front of me, and the danmaku is her hands and feet striking at me._

**This is a different magic. Qi is an extension of the soul. It is not unlike your dark magic. What you are feeling is her will. Now, show her true force of will!**

_Alright… Hraaa!_

I fight against Meiling's qi danmaku and make my way towards her. Her beautiful rainbow qi whirls around her like a cyclone, and I'm almost hesitant to interrupt her dancing.

I take a quick slash at her to test her defenses. She seamlessly integrates my sword slash into her dance, and she turns the blade aside with little effort. She then dances into me, which catches me by surprise. She grabs me and throws me back down the hall. Her youkai strength allows her to hurl me quite some distance.

I land with a hard thud. I'm not hurt by the throw, and I quickly stand.

_Guh! That didn't work out so well. Let's try this then!_

I switch to my pistol and fire at her. She makes no effort to dodge the bullets. Instead, her dancing becomes more focused on defense moves than offense moves. She appears to be manipulating her qi to defend her. Just like with normal magic, her qi acts as a temporary barrier against harm. The bullets clash against her, but cause no injuries.

I fire all my bullets, but she is not stopped by them. She continues her dance, sending danmaku bolts at me.

I step away from the shots while I try thinking of something to try next._ Her barrier is strong.  
_

**Qi extension lasts only as long as the user has their mind prepared for it. Disrupt her, and she is defenseless.**

_Really? If you say so… I hope this works.  
_

I expend the last of my energy into this spell. "Mysterious Tremor!"

Meiling catches the beam with her block, but it makes no difference. The spell sinks into her palm and affects her. She immediately stops dancing and stumbles about.

Meiling struggles to stay on her legs. "Uh… mmph…"

_She's wide open now. This is my only chance!_

Nightmare materializes into my hands and begins to rumble as I power it up. Meiling is stunned, but her iron will keeps her on her feet and she is prepared to receive my attack.

With a short grunt I break into a dash at Meiling, ready to bring down the defender.

I raise the scythe and bring it straight down over Meiling. She manages to shield herself from the worst of the blade, but the energy wave cuts her deep, and knocks her over.

**The way is clear! Run, now!**

I quickly jump over Meiling and run for the door.

Meiling instantly jumps up as I pass over her and begins to chase me down.

**Do not stop!**

I release my weapon and blindly flee towards the door. Meiling sends a volley of danmaku towards me. The shots strike me all over my back, but by sheer strength of will I keep running.

"Argh! Come on, almost…"

I reach the door and slam it open. Inside is Flandre, Sakuya, and Remilia. I run over to the vampire and thrust the bat shaped ruby at her.

"There. I got it." I say with an exhausted sigh.

Remilia takes the jewel. "Very well. You win."

_Just like that? That's all?_

Just as she says this, Meiling bursts into the room after me. She's a little bloody from my scythe slash, but is otherwise ok.

Remilia looks at her. "Sorry my dear, but you lose."

Meiling freezes in place. "M… Mistress…"

_Well… I guess that really is all. Whew!_

"It's over? Aww… I was looking forward to them playing with each other more…" Flandre complains.

"Yes, well… we had a good show while it lasted. Congratulations on your victory Knight." She too sounds just slightly disappointed that it's over.

Meiling suddenly falls to her knees. "I lost? I lost to him… how could this happen? I was so sure I could win… how? Am I really such a failure? I must be. I'm a failure as a guard if I can't even defend a single door… why?"

Meiling continues to talk herself into a deep depression for a minute. Sakuya eventually comes over to her and pulls her up.

"Stop, you. You're the finest guardian there is. Your opponent was just…" She glances at me for a second. "Just more complex than you thought. You did fine today. Now stop sobbing."

She sighs. "Ok…"

Sakuya continues. "Here, if you do well this next month on your job then I'll share one of my saved vacation days with you. We can go to the hot springs together. Will that make up for your loss?"

This gets a smile back into Meiling. "Thanks Sakuya. That would be great."

Remilia chuckles. "Ohoho. What's this? I don't often see this side of you Sakuya. Having a romantic hot spring getaway now?"

"M-My Lady, please! You mustn't joke about such things. That is not what I had in mind." Sakuya is almost blushing.

Meiling throws an arm around the maid. "Oh, come on Sakuya. We've been best friends ever since we met. Miss China and Chief Maid! We're practically sisters!" Meiling finishes with a hearty laugh.

_She's already back to normal, and everyone's joking around. The mood here sure changes quickly. I would wonder 'what the hell' but I'll just let it go this time._

Sakuya pushes her away. "Don't get carried away Meiling… I'll be watching you this next month. Now if you'll excuse me."

The viewing crystals that have been following us return to Sakuya's hands, and the game officially ends. I exhale a long sigh of relief.

_I really won… What a rush!_

**Well done. You have earned your victory.**

Remilia approaches me from behind. "Now that we're all here, I'd like you all to meet our newest member of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Welcome, Knight."

Sakuya bows. "It is good to have you sir."

Flandre claps. "Yay! We'll have lots of fun together… I mean… Um… Welcome sir, it is an honor… hehe!"

Even Meiling gives me a salute. "Good to have you sir! A good game by the way."

_Did she say new member? That's not what she said earlier._

I step back from everyone in confusion. "Member? I didn't think that's what you meant by honored guest."

"It wasn't, dear Knight. But after seeing you… you're powers, you're skills, you're resolve… you've interested me now. I wouldn't mind having you around for a few decades. This mansion is maddeningly boring these days, and you have much promise. You simply must stay. That's not a problem, is it?" The vampire finishes with a sly smile. Her opinion of me has done a complete reversal.

_Well… this isn't what I had in mind, but if I finish with Arcane and Alice I'll have a place to stay. Although I'm not looking forward to years of eternal wakefulness here. Still, to be honored by a vampire…_

I smile a little. "Of course not. Thanks everyone. Happy to be here."

**An unexpected turn… but it will make no difference.**

_Huh?_

Before Arcane can answer, Remilia speaks up again. "Now then, let us go see Patchouli. She still has yet to meet you my dear Knight. Sakuya, clean Meiling up and send her back to work; take care of Flandre too, would you? "

She beckons for me to join her. "Come, let us walk. I will show you where the library is."

_Well, she's nice when she doesn't think of me as a toy… or maybe I'm just a new favorite toy to her now. Whatever. I'm just glad to finally be done with all this._

Flandre stays with Sakuya and Meiling, and me and Remilia travel down the halls of the mansion towards the library..

_Now we're finally getting somewhere. It's time we met Patchouli. It's time we figure out what I really am made of… and what Arcane actually is._

* * *

_A/N_

_Thank you for reading my latest chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.  
_

_Meiling was kind of fun to write about. She kind of has a two-sided personality here. I had actually forgotten about her giddy loyalty she had in the last chapter, but when I realized this, I had already wrote her out as a determined warrior. I thought they worked out nicely when combined: Fights fiercely, but loves her friends even more fiercely. I think it seems like something she would actually do.  
_

_There was a lot of stuff that happened in this chapter too. I wasn't wanting this to be that long, but it kind of ended up that way. My shortest chapter only had a few more than 2000 words, that's my minimum for the story, and I don't think I'm going to ever go under 3000 for this story again. At the same time, I think 6000 words is the absolute limit per chapter for this story. Longer chapters take a hellish amount of time for me to review properly, and I don't like spending hours on the same piece of work.  
_

_Thanks again. The next chapter will be ready soon. Special thanks to those of you who have been keeping up with my story so far! It means a lot to me to know people enjoy reading my work.  
_


	16. Patchouli's Favor

Remilia leads me through the shadowy halls of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Together, we walk at a leisurely pace towards the library.

Along the way, Remilia makes small talk with me. She comments on the various side rooms and secondary wings of the mansion as we pass them. I say little and listen to her notes of the place, and her exploits here in Gensokyo. Apparently, Remilia and Flandre weren't from this world either, and they came to Gensokyo just a few decades ago.

They've been expanding on the mansion ever since they got here. These additions range anywhere from practical, like the expanded storage, to insane, like the demon summoning room that could potentially open a portal to hell itself.

The residents here have also been involved with all sorts of major happenings. Events ranging from private parties, to heroic exploits, to the creating of a widespread disaster that almost left Gensokyo without a sun.

Her conversations only make her more mysterious to me. At some times, she sounds like a savvy ruler. At others, she just seems like a spoiled noble. She may have invited me to stay here, but I still don't think I'll ever be able to fully trust this girl.

After a several minutes of walking and idle chatter, me and Remilia finally reach the library.

"Ah, and here it is. The library, Voile." She gracefully gestures to the large wooden door in front of us.

There were no signs or indicators on this door. It was just a plain wood door with a stone arch frame. It was the simplest and least decorative thing I've seen in this place.

_Hmm… not as spectacular as I thought it was going to be. I wonder how large it is…_

Remilia continues with another one of her explanations. "This library has been around for several thousand years. The books in here are older than it's librarian. These books are full of of long forgotten magic and forbidden secrets. It is the world's largest magical resource. Patchouli spends all of her time in here with her demon familiar. She's usually performing magical experiments or doing old research. Come, I'll introduce you."

"Lead the way." I offer.

She steps forward and pulls open the doors. They swing open slowly, and the whole hall seems to rumble as they do.

After they open enough for us to step through, Remilia goes in. I follow after her, but stop as soon as I step through.

Going into the library was like stepping into a completely different building. The fleeting mist is gone, the shadows are lighter, and the place is well lit. I take a look around as we walk forward.

The ceiling is as tall as the mansion itself, and the main floor is as wide as the courtyard. The main floor is similar to a normal library, with countless rows of tall bookshelves in neat order. The walls themselves are also bookshelves that tower all the way up to the ceiling. Ladders leading up to narrow walkways that jut out along the walls provide access to the highest reaches of the library.

I gaze in awe.

_They go all the way up to the ceiling… all of those books… What a library!_

**These ancient archives are full of powerful magic. There are few places in the world that have this much power. It is the perfect place to begin.**

Remilia sees my awe and chuckles a little. "Hmhmhm… impressed? There is a great deal of magical reference material here. I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for here."

I weakly laugh back. "Ha… I don't even know where to start."

"Patchouli can help with that. She's just right over there. Oh, Patchy! I have someone I'd like introduce to you."

Remilia continues to lead me to the end of the central walkway. The library door leads straight to the far back wall via a large clear walkway. At the far end is a pedestal, and behind it is a desk and chair.

"Remi… I told you already that I'm busy tonight. _Busy! _If it isn't important than it will have to wait." The figure at the desk grumbles back at us.

_Yeowch. Someone's not in a good mood…_

We walk closer to the desk, and I can see her clearly. She is a woman dressed in all purple. Her heavy violet robes roll over her in the chair and conceal her figure completely. She has purple eyes and matching purple hair that is decorated with various ribbons and is topped with a fluffy cap.

Overall, she's one of the stranger looking people I've seen yet.

**Hm… She is a youkai magician; possibly a very old one as well. This must be the master of the library.**

Remilia proceeds in spite of the librarians warning.

She leans over on the desk, placing her hand in the book the librarian is reading. "Patchy, I have a very interesting person here I'd like you to meet. His name is Knight."

Patchouli sighs. "Remi… I'm happy you've found yourself a new thing to play with, but must you really-"

"Ah, but this is not a toy…" She interrupts." This is a very unique individual. He will be staying with us from now on. Come now, at least say hello to our newest member."

Patchouli sighs again and glances at me. She looks very unamused, and stares at me with lifeless eyes.

"Very well… Hello Knight. I am Patchouli Knowledge, magician and aid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. This is my library. As long as you are staying here you may use any of my books, but don't leave with them. There, now if you will excuse me."

After her unenthusiastic introduction she turns back to the book on her desk and pushes away Remilia's hand.

"Patchy, dear. Don't be like this…"

"_I _am not like anything right now. _You _are in one of your strange moods again, and you're bothering me with something completely unimportant. I'll remind you again, that in two hours it'll be the first day of autumn! You know how long I've been preparing for this." She argues with Remilia. Remilia isn't at all affected.

But something she said sounded a little strange. I decide to risk a question against the librarian.

"What's so special about the first of autumn?" I ask.

Patchouli shoots me a harsh glare, but then proceeds to answer.

"Because it is the changing of the season. It is a worldwide shifting of the elements that occurs only four times during the year. During this time the magical composition of the world becomes more malleable. A particular transmutation I am attempting can only be done at this particular shift to autumn, where the right elements are weak enough to move."

She turns back to her book. "I have been studying this particular spell for the past two years now. I think what I have uncovered could dramatically shift the way Gensokyo looks at magic…"

_That sound pretty ground-breaking. Maybe I should wait to ask for help. Maybe I could be of use to her first?_

I begin to offer my help to her. "Well… um… I was going to ask for your help with a problem of mine, but you seem a little preoccupied at the moment. Maybe, in the meantime, I could help you instead?"

I wasn't sure how I could help a magician perform her own magic, but I felt like I should ask anyways.

Patchouli glares at me again. At first, I thought she might be agitated at my interruption, but her gaze slowly begins to soften.

"Just so you know, even though you are a new member here you still hold no rank amongst us; not even the fairies. You do not get to start ordering anyone around just because Remilia gave you an approval. But since you offered to help… hmm… I may be able to spend a little time with you if you help me first." She replies.

Remilia claps her hands. "Ah! You two seem to be getting off to a grand start! I'll just leave you two to your devices. I'll have Sakuya set up a room for you later. Goodbye for now Knight."

Remilia then twirls away from the desk and walks back to the door and leaves the library.

Once the door shuts, Patchouli lets out a heavy sigh. "Just so you know… she is always like that."

_Figures. _"Yeah, I kind of got that impression. Anyways, what did you need help with? Just so you know, I can't do magic… at least not normal magic."

She gives me an odd look. "Oh? How odd… Well I hope you can at least defend yourself decently. I need you to go out for me. I cannot leave this spell to go do it, and I could use an extra hand."

_An errand? Ok I guess._ I think while I let her continue.

"You see, I am actually extremely ill and weak. My life is continued only by my magic. But even with that, my illness is crippling most of the time. My spells are frequently interrupted by bouts of coughing and moving around can be difficult at times… if not impossible."

She does not look sick to me right now, but I remain silent.

"That was until I found a cure." She adds.

_That explains it._

"There is a doctor who lives in the bamboo thicket beyond the human village, her name is Eirin Yagokoro. She has invented a miracle medicine that can alleviate all sicknesses, banish all weariness, and restore all vitality for an extent of time. She claims it to be the mythical Ambrosia. While I do not know the truth of that claim, I do know that it works. With it, I am free of illness."

"But you're out and you need me to get some." I guess.

She silently nods.

After a second, she stands. Her robes fall tightly onto her breasts and thighs, revealing her to have a curvy and attractive body.

She looks down at herself. "This is my true body as it should be, but without my medicine I will wither from illness and become a sick little girl. I intend to find a way to cure my illnesses with magic. However, other things frequently distract me, so I rely on this medicine. It is very important that I always have it nearby."

She holds her hands up and looks at them. "Being able carry books myself… being able to recite magic in a clear command… being able to walk and run… I could never do that before. I want to stay this way forever; strong and healthy. I need that medicine. It is more than important to me now."

I listen to her patiently. After a second, she realizes she's lapsing into an emotional rant, and snaps back to her cool composure.

"Anyways, I still have much preparation to do for this transmutation spell and I cannot go, and my servant, Koakuma, is out doing another errand for me. I still have enough for tommorrow, but it will not last much longer. If you can get me the medicine before I run out and sicken then I will help you." She finally finishes.

**How pitiful. The mighty sorceress is at the whim of the lowly doctor. You're only delaying the inevitable suffering. How long do you think she's going be able to keep this illusion? One day, she will go back to her weak and miserable self. **The god of suffering hisses and jeers at Patchouli's dilemma.

_Maybe… but that's no excuse not to try._

"Deal. I'll get your medicine."

"Wait here." Patchouli goes back to a door along the back wall; the only spot that is not books. She disappears inside it for a second before returning with a packet.

She hands me the packet. "Here, this is the money for the medicine. It's the Ambrosia Serum from the Eientei clinic. Do you know where that is?"

"No. I'm actually new to Gensokyo. I've only ever been to the Hakurei Shrine and Kourindou." I reply.

"Then this trip will be good for you. Did you see the sign for the human village on your way here? You'll go through the human village, past the temple, and into the forest on the other side. You'll find Eientei there. If you don't run into too much trouble, you could get there and back by tomorrow evening. Just be wary, there are many threats in Gensokyo."

I nod. "Got it. I'll head there right now. I'll be back before your sickness sinks in again, don't worry."

"Wait, before you go." She stops me. "Are you… injured? You've been rigid this entire time."

_Ugh… those damn cuts and bruises are really sinking into me. _

I don't want to bother her anymore, so I attempt shrugging it off. "Nah, just a little sore is all. Don't worry; I got my own medicines here."

This seems to pique her curiosity. "Really now? May I see them?"

I take out the bottle of painkillers and packet of herbs and hand them to her for her to see.

She looks at the active formula label on the bottle. "Hmm… interesting. I've always been fascinated by the alchemy of the outside world. Eirin's medicine is just made with spells. The scientific magic the outsider humans bring with them is quite unique in comparison. This one is far more advanced than I remember…"

She gives the herbs back without examining them, but does not return the bottle.

"May I keep this for research?" She asks.

_Err… _"I guess, but I still need something I can take with me. I, uh… don't regenerate."

"Of course. Here." Patchouli walks back to her desk and pulls a glass flask. The vial is filled with a clear pinkish liquid.

"I usually save this for emergencies, but you can take it. This potion should treat your wounds. Don't drink it all at once, it's potent. A little less than half can treat a fatal wound. If you run out, keep the flask. It can hold other magic brews as well." She explains.

I take it. "Thanks."

Now that I hold it, I realize that it's not glass, but polished crystal. The flask is thick and doesn't look like it will break easily, which might be good to know when I'm tumbling around.

I pocket the vial in place of the painkillers and thank her again.

"Just remember, it's human village, forest, Eientei, Ambrosia Serum. Please be quick… and thank you."

I nod and make my way out of the library.

As I step through the door, I hear a loud clap of thunder echoes from outside.

_Gah… I'm going out in that? Come on weather! Give me a damn break._

I sigh. _This is important for her. I need to just suck it up. My jacket's still in good condition, so I should be fine._

I begin to walk, but then realize I don't know the way out from here. A fairy maid passes by, and I wave her over.

"Hey. Could you take me to the entrance?" I ask.

She tilts her head in confusion.

_Oops, I can't order the maids._

I try explaining myself this time. "I'm lost. Could you show me the front door, please? I need to leave for the night."

This time she agrees. I follow her all the way back to the front door. We arrive quickly, and she returns to the mansion's interior afterwards.

I open the front door and peer outside. The downpour from earlier has become a mad tempest. Rain falls in buckets and lightning bombards the earth. The fog is now widespread, and the night is impenetrable. The only constant light out there is a faint torch that struggles against howling winds.

_Oh man… this is gonna be a tough night._

**Be careful. Not even the fury of the storm will deter creeping youkai.**

_Well if they can take it so can I. It is a little dark for me though… let's see how well this light works._

I reach into my pocket and draw the flashlight. It's cone of light pierces the shadows and reveals the courtyard path. The light is wide and long, and it promises to be useful tonight.

I keep my light aimed forward and walk into the storm. I continue down the windswept courtyard and towards the gate.

Leaning calmly under the arch of the gate alongside a torch is Hong Meiling. She is already soaked by the storm, and her shirt and dress hugs her frame. Arcane appears to be right though, as she is completely unbothered by the storm or her ruined outfit.

Meiling acknowledges me with a casual salute. "Hey there Knight. Heading out into this storm?"

I nod. "Yeah. Special request for Patchouli. I need to get to Eientei."

"Alright. Just be careful out there. The Mistress may like you, but we aren't going to come looking for you if you die."

_Some friends I have here! At least try to act concerned!_

I quietly sigh under the sound of the raging storm. "I'll try not to let that happen."

With a wave of her hand, the gates swing outward. I say goodbye and head through the gates and out towards Misty Lake.

_Ok… village. I've got to get across the lake and back to that intersection. Go past Kourindou, and that will take me outside of the village._

I begin to walk down to the path leading along the lake side. Blinding fog rolls all around me and clings to my waist. The black of the night is all around, and the storm unleashes it's fury upon me.

Aside from the wide light of the flashlight, I am completely blind. I aim the flashlight low along the path, and it chases away the obscuring fog. I walk slowly and carefully, and make my way down the lake path.

_Oh man oh man__…_ this is some scary stuff here. I can't see a thing. Just push through and get there quick. That's all I can do now.

A deafening crash of thunder rings out. I retreat a few steps as a tree explodes under the punishment of the lightning bolts.

"Shit… that was close." I mutter to myself. The tree next to the path ahead is covered completely covered in flames now.

I shrug it off and continue again. I point my light directly forward, allowing me to make out the distant shrubbery and trees leading to the Forest of Magic's entrance. The burning tree looms right over the path.

As I approach the dim light of the flames, I notice something odd about the way the light shines. It seems to be avoiding a particular spot.

I try shining my flashlight into the darkened area, but it does not pass through either. It's a perfectly dark orb right on the path.

**Hm… it is that shadow creature again. Her presence is worrisome.**

It takes me a second to remember, but I know of only one person who moves around in an orb of pure shadow.

"Rumia? Rumia is that you?" I call out.

The orb responds and floats towards me. It stops directly in front of me, blocking all vision ahead.

"Hm? Who are you? How do you know my name?" The shadowy youkai asks.

_She forgot about me?_

"Yesterday morning, remember? We met on the path to the shrine." I explain.

"But I met a lot of weird people that day near the shrine. Which one are you? Could you put down that light? I can't stand looking into the light."

"Oh, sorry." I lower the flashlight.

The darkness fades away, and I can see Rumia. At least, I can her skirt and legs in the reflecting light.

"Hmm… mmph… nngh… I still can't see you."

I sigh, and point the flashlight backwards onto me for the girl's poor vision.

"Oh! It's you friend!" She exclaims as her memory returns.

I aim the flashlight back down again. "Yeah, it's me. Now what are you doing out in this storm? Shouldn't you stay inside or something?"

"Nope. I don't have a home!" She gleefully replies.

_No home? What does she do then? _"Don't you have some place to go? What are you going to do in the winter? You'll die."

"Other people help me when it gets really bad. Everyone is so nice to me here. I've actually been staying at Alice's place recently… until that stupid witch made her mad. I got kicked out, and now I just wander around like I usually do." She casually states.

_Alice? Witch? Marisa maybe? She might have been there when they fell out with each other. She might know what's going on with Alice._

**No! This is not your business! You are making an error. Forget about the magician and move on.**

I ignore him and ask anyways.

"Rumia? Hey, do you know why Alice got mad at Marisa? This is something I really need to know." I question.

Rumia is quiet for a second.

"I would tell you…" She begins. "But you lied to me yesterday. You ran off saying you were doing important stuff, and then went and stayed the night with Reimu. That wasn't super important like you said!"

_Argh! I forgot I said that._

"I'm sorry Rumia, but I was there for something important. I just got injured and Reimu took care of me that night. I wasn't lying." I reason with her.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, it is."

She remains silent, as if expecting more details or an alternate answer.

I try pressing her for the details. "Look, I need that information, and I don't have a lot of time."

"Is that so?"

"Yes! Rumia, please. What did Alice say?"

She remains silent. It seems she is still unsatisfied.

I finally give in. "Ok… If I play a quick game with you, will you tell me?"

She excitedly hops in place. "Yes! Something fun! Ok! Deal! If you play danmaku with me, then I'll tell you what I heard."

_Play… danmaku? For some reason, I don't think this isn't going to be a game. _I think to myself.

"Are there any rules?" _Please let there be rules for this._

"Rules? No way. Rules are stupid. All the stupid spell card rules did was protect stupid humans. Nobody uses them anymore anyways. I like the older ways of fighting. First to give up or pass out wins! Ok? Start!"

She rises off the ground into a low hover. Darkness swirls around her, and she fades into the shadow of night.

"Wait! How can you tell me about Alice if I knocked you out?" I call back to her.

"Dunno. Don't care. We can figure it out later. For now, let's play danmaku! Get ready, friend!"

_Gah! What should I do? She isn't going to talk to me if I don't fight her. Maybe I should just forget it and run?_

**You have already provoked her. Flight is no longer an option. Be reserved with your strikes. The seal in her hair is very old, and may be damaged. If you do not unleash her true power than I believe she will not be able to stand against you.**

A ball of gold danmaku flies over me.

_Whoa, close there! No choice then._

I summon my sword into one hand and scan the darkness with the flashlight while waiting for Rumia's first move.

_Alright then Rumia. If you're itching for a fight, then I've got your fight… Let's make this a quick one!_

* * *

A/N

Thank you for reading my latest chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.

How Knight and Patchouli interacted was an interesting challenge. Patchouli's illness is often a point of drama in more serious fanworks, but I wanted to try reversing the cliche. Rather than fighting against her diseases, she's already found a cure and needs to maintain her health to avoid declining again. I think this makes for a more interesting scenario, and it makes taking the plot in this direction easier than anything else I came up with. Be sure to review and let me know what you think about this one, as i'm kind of experimenting here.

Thanks again. The next chapter will be ready soon. I'm going straight to writing the next chapter as soon as this goes up, so it should be quick.


	17. Dark Things

The storm rages around me while I scan the foggy night for Rumia. She is wreathed in a cocoon of black shadow. Her fleeting image occasionally catches on my flashlight, but she's constantly strafing around me.

Another wave of danmaku flies at an awkward angle towards me, and I easily duck underneath it.

Me and Rumia are stalemated. I can't see her to attack, and Rumia can't see me well enough to properly aim. Rumia is enjoying herself regardless, and gleefully spews magic at random in hopes of hitting me.

_Damn it! This is getting me nowhere. I can't hit her!_

"Hehehe…come on friend. Can't you fight?" Rumia taunts as she blindly fires at me from the shadows. Her danmaku shines clearly in the night.

I avoid the magical attack and shout back at her. "How about you come over here and we can really have a fight?"

She just giggles again and continues to circle around me in the shadows. I try fixating on her noises, but I just can't hear her over the storm.

_Grr… what do I do? I don't have all day._

**Be patient. Young youkai are quick to rage in battle. She will make a mistake soon.**

With no other options, I follow Arcane's advice. I wait out Rumia's assault.

Her attacks are wild, but her alternating tactics keep me on defensive. She switches between aimed bursts, sweeping waves, and radial blasts of danmaku.

I maintain my cool and avoid the attacks with ease. I've stopped trying to locate her, and I'm just focusing on dodging instead. I hope that she will give herself away somehow.

"Hey. You aren't giving up are you?" She asks. I ignore her and just keep avoiding her attacks. Chatting will only fuel her mood.

"Hello? Friend? What are you doing?" She asks again.

I remain silent.

"I can see your light you know. Stop playing neglect and start playing danmaku!"

I then get an idea, and I shut off my flashlight. The world disappears into the dark, and I crouch down into the sweeping fog and hide.

Rumia is quickly confused by my actions. "Friend? Hello? Hello?"

I hold perfectly still and let the fog and rain roll over me.

"Muu… You're being really annoying. Where are you?" She begins to fire randomly as she loses track of me.

"Hello? Do something! You said you'd play with me!" She calls out to me again, but I do not respond.

"Come on! Friend? Did he run? Hello? Hello? Come on out! This isn't nice you know! I know you're out there! I'm a predator you know! I can sense your life! You're near, I can tell! If you aren't going to come out, then I'll just come to you! Hiding can't help you!"

As frustration sets in, she stops firing and starts talking. She starts talking louder and louder. Her chatter increases in frequency, and she gradually begins to give herself away.

_There. I can hear you nice and clear now…_

She continues to talk as she passes right past me and into the distance. I slowly stand up and follow after her. I blindly stalk the girl's voice and close in on her.

When I reach what I think is close enough to strike I flick the flashlight back on and thrust at her with my sword.

My harsh stab catches Rumia in the back, and a resonating clash rings out as her barrier sustains heavy damage. The force sends Rumia stumbling forward into the ground.

"Ow ow ow-"

She is cut off by a sloppy thud as she goes face first into the muddy earth.

_There. Got her now._

I aim the flashlight at the fallen Rumia. She slowly begins to stand up again.

"I got you first. Now, why don't we talk about what you heard?" I push to end the fight early.

Of course, Rumia doesn't buy into it. In fact, now she's really angry.

"Blargh! Blah! Flegh! Yuck! You got mud in my mouth and all over my dress. I'm so dirty now. I'll make you pay for that!"

She coughs out a bit more mud before standing all the way up and going back to her flight. Using her power over darkness, she disappears once more.

Silence passes for a while. I spin around while scanning the night for my attacker.

"That was a mean trick you know…" Rumia says right over my shoulder. I spin around and blindly swing at the darkness behind me, but I hit nothing.

Rumia's voice returns to my other shoulder this time. "But I've got my own tricks, and their just as mean."

I swing again, but she just giggles as I flail at the dark.

"Get ready for some real fun now. Moon Sign: Moonlight Ray!"

The air becomes increasingly darker as Rumia's magical presence overwhelms the environment. Even my flashlight begins to flicker and dim as her shadows try to overtake the light.

_Spell card? She's making this difficult. But I can't be slowed down. I'll break this one quick._

Instantly, a dull blue ray of energy flies out into the night right in front of me. Then, a second one appears behind. The two rays begin to come together like a pair of massive scissors.

"Whoa!" I duck into the fog just as the two beams come together. They close over me, and then disappear.

I try pointing my flashlight to where the beams originated from. I find nothing there though. The heavy air has reduced the length of my flashlight to just a few feet in front of me. The device flickers as magical darkness strains to quell the last source of light.

"Hehe… over here."

I spin to face the darkness behind me, but I still can't see her. She's already moved around me again.

_It's too dark. I can't see!_

**Patience.**

She repeats the attack, closing in on me with a pair of wide lasers. She makes the same mistake of aiming too high, and I effortlessly duck under the beams.

_Whew. Made it. She seems to take a lot of time with that laser. Maybe I can hit her when she's staying still.  
_

Rumia is surprised by that I wasn't trapped by her beams this time either. "Wha? I missed? I'll get you!"

_I think I can see her in the beam's light. I'll get her on this next one. _I think to myself.

The two beams reappear, this time along the ground. I doubt I could duck under them now, and jumping over it is out of the question.

**You have no time to waste. Break this card.**

I switch to my pistol and aim with one hand towards where the beams originate from. Combined with my flashlight, I can see the dark orb that Rumia resides in.

I fire off shots into the orb. The bullets pelt Rumia, and she grunts in pain as the damaging shots hit her. It takes only one whole magazine of solid fire before Rumia yields.

"Ow! Ouch! Stop that!" Rumia maintains control of the spell card, but she flinches and the beams do not completely close on me.

_There, that got her. Time to re-_

Beams reappear again. They're already closing in.

_No time to reload. Is Chaos loaded? Screw it, no time to guess. Just rush into it!_

I summon my sword again. Using my flashlight to see and the beams as a guide, I charge through the night and into the darkness Rumia is inside.

I reach her shadows and bring the blade straight down into it. It collides with something hard, followed by a yelp of pain. I strike into it one more time, and I hear more shattering from her magical protection.

Swinging the sword with one hand is a bit tricky, but I strike her again and again.

"Kya! Ow! Nngh!" Rumia grumbles in pain from the stinging blows. She stumbles backwards about in the air with each attack that hits her. She's defenseless against my sword.

Her moment of weakness causes her to lose concentration, and the spell card vanishes. The encroaching shadows dissipate. The flashlight returns to full power and functions normally.

_There. Got it! Now to finish this.  
_

The last slash I deal Rumia makes a rather loud crack against her barrier. She is sent flying away from the blow and lands on the ground with a hard thud.

She's already down one spell card and I haven't even been hit yet. Her barrier is almost through, and she sounds like she's getting tired.

_Rumia's losing way too fast. Is she trying? Or maybe the seal in her hair is weakening her?_

**If her power is over darkness, then perhaps the seal was designed to become stronger in her own environment to…**

Arcane trails off mid-sentence.

_Arcane?_

He does not respond. It appears that's all I'm getting from him.

_Ok… that was a weird conversation._

"Grrrr! You!" Rumia's angered growl snaps me back to attention.

I turn my flashlight onto her. She flinches a little when the light strikes her red eyes, and she soon becomes shadow again.

"I'll get you good this time!" She begins. I can feel another spell card coming on.

"Darkness Sign: Dem… Demar…"

The talkative youkai struggles with her words for a second and tries again. "Darkness Siiii… Darkness Sign… Darknesssh… Sigh… Demawawawawoooh…"

Gradually, the darkness begins to fade around her. I can see she's holding a spell card, but she's swaying horribly. She looks nauseous. Her once glowing red eyes now reflect no light. Rumia tries again and again to recite the card, but each pronunciation sounds worse than the last. Any attempt to finish the last word causes her to lurch violently and slip up again.

I begin walking over to her. "Rumia? Are you ok?"

She lands on the ground and wraps her arms around her stomach. "Oooh… I don't feel very good. Let's stop. Unnnnn…"

I am in disbelief. "Uh, sure. What's wrong Rumia? You aren't getting sick from the rain are you?"

"Hmm… I dunno. My stomach hurts, but I'm not hungry. My stomach really really hurts, and my head feels so light."

_She was just fine a second ago. I wonder what went wrong._

_Wait. Her head? It couldn't be that could it? I used my sword against her, but I don't think I hit it, did I? Maybe I should check._

I walk up to her and gently grab her. "Hey, I'm just going to look at something. Hold still."

I use the flashlight and shine it at her hair. The ribbon is ruffled as it always is, and does not immediately appear to be out of place.

But after rifling my hand through the ribbon I find a a tear in it. A bit of it is sliced from off where my sword landed on her.

_Well. There you go. I cut her seal… fuck._

**This is a problem. I told you not to get carried away!  
**

My heart sinks.

_I-it's just one little cut right? I didn't tear it off or anything. Look, there's a hole already right… oh wait._

I check the ribbon thoroughly and find two bullet holes in the ribbon's ruffles. One of my bullets had gone in, out, and back into her ribbon before ricocheting off her.

"What's wrong up there? Is my head messed up?" Rumia innocently asks.

_Is there any reason not to tell her? I don't think there is._ "It's your ribbon. It got cut a little."_  
_

"Wha? But Reimu gave me this ribbon! It was a gift! I love this ribbon_…_"

**It appears she does not understand the nature of her own powers.**

_She still seems ok. Her seal has been heavily damaged though. It's still firm in her hair, but it doesn't look good. What should I do? Maybe I should tell Reimu. She's a priestess; maybe she can re-seal it or something. Argh, but I don't have time for that! I have to get to Eientei. Eirin is a doctor, right? Maybe she can help._

I apologize to her"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

"It's ok I guess. As long as it isn't too bad. I'm more bothered by my stomach right now. I feel so sick."

I'm actually on my way to see a doctor. Maybe we can get you checked out." I offer.

Rumia shakes her head. "No. Doctors are weird. I'm gonna go find Mystia and stay the night with her. I'll be better in the morning."

_She's just going to leave on her own? If I let her go, I'm essentially lighting a bomb and giving it to someone else. There's no telling what will happen. Should I let her go? Would it be safe to hold onto her with her seal damaged?_

I fight against my own thoughts for a while. Eventually, Arcane's harsh presence interrupts me.

**Just let her go. The damage to her seal has not altered her in any way. She seems to be ill from a surge of power that escaped the seal is all. As long as it is not physically removed than it should hold.**

I sigh and let it go. "Ok. Just take care of yourself for a while. I think you should try and avoid fighting for now."

She quietly nods. I only hope she will really agree to it. I'd hate to be responsible for unleashing a terrible power into the world.

_Now… _"Alright. Now could you tell me about Alice? I don't want to keep you, so just go straight to the point."

She agrees and begins explaining.

"I was woken up one night by Marisa and Alice arguing. I couldn't hear them clearly from the other room, but it sounded like Marisa was mad at something Alice was doing. After a while they both walked outside and had a big battle. Marisa lost. Alice came back in and made me leave the next day. She was so rude about it too. I don't know what happened to her."

I listen carefully. It's a little hard to hear her declining voice over the raging storm.

"That's all you know? Is there anything else?" I ask.

She nods. "When they went outside, Alice set aside a really big book she was reading. I thought it might have been her grimoire, but it wasn't. The book was red, and was bound in bones! It was scary looking. The title said Death and… Necoro… Nekko… Necro…

**Necromancy. Death and Necromancy.**

It sounds like some kind of cultist book.

_A book on necromancy? What is Alice doing with that?_

**I fear the worst.**

"Nekor? Necro…"

I stop Rumia's wild guessing. "Slow down. I know what you mean. So Marisa was upset at Alice because she was reading this scary book?"

"Yeah. It wasn't the only one either. There were a bunch of nercro-thingy books and old grimoires and tomes that all looked weird and creepy. Marisa got mad about it. Then they had a fight."

_Hmm… It looks like that's all I get for now. _"Ok, thanks Rumia. That's a big help. Now go get out of this rain. Get some rest. If you see Mystia, tell her Knight says hi."

"Ok. Bye friend. We'll play more when I feel better." The ailing youkai drifts off into the darkness.

Now, I am alone in the pitch black night. The tempest continues its assault while I silently think to myself.

_Necromancy… what is that exactly? I know it has something to do with the dead._

**It is the use of one's own magic to manipulate life and death to animate the dead or bind souls. If you applied yourself, necromancy would be a small feat for you.**

I shiver a little._ No way. I'm definitely not going that far._

I look around to get my bearings again and find the path. The tree that was struck by lightning has long since died out, and is now just a smoldering pillar of charcoal.

I walk past the burned tree and down the path. I ignore the falling rain and lightning and continue to the human village. I leave the lake, and pass the Forest of Magic once again.

The shadow of Kourindou looms over in the clearing nearby. I shine my light over onto the old building as I pass by it, but it is darkened inside. Rinnosuke is likely asleep now.

I continue onward past his store and towards the human village. It is a long and quiet walk there.

After about several more minutes of walking I finally reach a low lying fence. Propped on the fence is another sign. The sign simply reads 'Human village.'

_There. I made it. I just need to cross to the other side of the village._

I say this to motivate myself to go on, but I can't move any further.

**Hm? You hesitate?**

_I… I'm not human anymore. Am I allowed to just go into here? What if they attack me?_

**The humans will fear you as if you were a youkai, but they will not attack you outright. If you do not draw unwanted attention to yourself then you will be safe.**

_If you say so. It's still night, maybe I can slip through before anyone wakes up._

**Servant, I cannot help but ponder what that youkai said about that book. If this magician is doing what I think she is than I worry something may happen soon. Thus, I must return to somewhere else for a moment. There is something I need to make certain of.**

_Huh? You're leaving me?_

**I cannot truly leave your soul, but I must focus my attention elsewhere for the time being. I will return at the sunrise. Be careful.**

I feel Arcane's presence in my mind weaken and dissipate. I am truly alone now.

_Well… nothing to do but keep going now._

I pass the sign and enter the outlying fields leading to the village of humans…

Leading to the only place in this fantasy world which I no longer belong to.

* * *

A/N

Thank you for reading my latest chapter! This one was shorter, but it was fun to write anyways.

I've hinted I might introduce an EX-Rumia scenario four times now, and now I've finally gotten around to lighting that fuse. I know I want to do this, but I'm not exactly sure how this is going to work. EX-Rumia isn't a canon character, so I really need to think this one out carefully, and decide how I'm going to work this in now.

Also, I bring up Alice again, and I give another hint to her situation. In my original draft for that event, Rumia wasn't supposed to be the one who brought that up, but I just went with this because it felt more natural to have her describe that paragraph than the others would.

Thank you again. The next chapter will be ready soon.


	18. Beloved Human, Beloved Youkai

I walk in silence down the wide cobblestone pathway. There are a few wood posts with lanterns on them to light the road ahead, but the surrounding fields and houses are still hidden by the dark.

The storm has calmed, but still continues. The lightning and wind is now quiet and distant, but the rain falls as hard as ever. Intense rain falls straight down onto my shoulders and head. It's heavy, but I ignore it and press on.

Using my flashlight, I can see sweeping crop fields and a few houses overlooking them. It appears farming is the popular trade out here. The fields gently slope down from the mountains and forests behind me, ensuring that rainwater up there always makes its way down here; although this much rain has likely ruined much of the crop.

Ahead is the main village built along the descending plains and overlooking the far off valley. I can see only it's shadows, but it looks to be quite large.

_Man… all the way up there? It's still a ways to go. I might not be able to get there before sunrise. Come on Knight, let's pick up the speed. _I say to myself. Arcane is not with me right now, and being able to clearly think for myself is a good feeling. I'm finding that I'm talking to myself a little more now, but at least I'm not talking with that evil being inside me.

I increase my walk to a light jog.

But I take only a few steps forward when I hear a scream. A woman's terrified scream rises high over the sounds of rainfall. It came from just ahead.

_What the hell was that?_

I run forward to see what it is. It doesn't take me long to reach the source of the problem.

A young blonde woman is heading this way. She's running for her life, screaming in terror.

Behind her is a man. A thin and short male dressed in rags with glowing green eyes, sharp claws, and row of wicked fangs. A youkai. He's running after the woman on all fours like some kind of ravenous man-beast. He's catching up to the woman fast.

The woman runs from the youkai as fast as she can. When she sees me, she waves her hands at me and screams in warning. "Help me! Please help!"

The youkai behind her laughs and growls as he chases the girl down.

_What the heck is with that guy? Is he trying to attack her? I can't believe this. No way! I'm not going to let him kill this girl!_

I summon Deceiver and aim at the youkai. A well placed shot in the lands digs into his gut and sends him rolling into the ground from pain.

_There. Take that you damn freak!_

The woman gasps in shock but does not stop running. She is no longer scared, but thankful.

She runs up to me and makes a deep respectful bow. "Thank-"

"Grrrr…"

The youkai attacker's throaty growl cuts her off and she spins around with a shriek. I can see the man is already back on his feet. His chest has a small bloody bullet hole in it. However, he walks unbowed; hunched over in a menacing stance.

The girl in front of me panics. She dives behind me and cowers from her pursuer.

She closes her eyes to shut out the world and starts screaming. "No! Please no! I don't want to die! You have to save me!"

The youkai advances on me, completely confident in his power. He's completely ignoring the wound in him; it's as if he's completely mindless.

_I'm not letting you have her. Back off!_

I do not hold back against him. I rapidly fire the remaining shots from my pistol into the youkai. Sprinkles of blood fly out with each hit. He stands tall at first, but he is quickly overtaken.

By the time I finish firing all nineteen shots, his chest and face are covered in blood. He manages only a bloody gurgle before seizing up and falling to the ground.

_No mercy for you, you monster!_

I know there is a chance he may regenerate from this anyways, but I don't care either way. I wasn't letting him get away with killing this girl.

I reload the pistol for next time and send it away. I look back to the girl behind me, who is shuddering in fear. She trembles in a fetal position on the soggy cobblestone in next to me. The gunfire must have been rather scary for her.

I try soothing the scared woman. "Hey. Hey. He's gone now. I took care of him. Come on now, get up."

She composes herself enough to look up at me. She sees my extended hand and slowly takes it.

I pull her up off the ground with relative ease. She feels lighter than I thought she might be.

Next to the light of a roadside lamp, I can see her clearly. An ordinary blond girl with a simple grey dress that was now soaked by the rain. She looks like she's about twenty or so. She lacks the powerful aura that anyone else has had so far.

_So this is a human girl… I should make sure she's ok and find out what just happened._

"Are you-oof!" I ask.

I'm interrupted mid-sentence by a fierce hug that almost knocks me to the ground.

"T-t-thank you so m-much! I was… s-so scared! Thank you!" The woman continues to sob into my shoulder, relieved that she had not died today.

After a second I gently push her off me. "Ok, calm down. You're safe now."

She briefly apologizes and steps backwards a little.

"Thank you for dealing with that terrible youkai. How did you do it? Are you a magician? Are you a youkai? Or maybe a hermit?" She questions me in hopes of finding out my secrets.

_I don't have time to explain myself._

"It's nothing really, just a trick of mine. Now, what happened to you? What is a youkai doing in the human village?"

She hesitates at me waving away her question, but does not press the matter. "A youkai man broke into my home and was trying to eat me. When I saw, I just started running. I'm… so glad I ran into you."

_Doesn't answer my last question though. _"Do youkai usually attack out here?"

She nods. "Yes. Male youkai are usually too weak to hunt strong travelers and sorcerers, so they come here. They hide in the crops, and snatch people up when they try to go out of the village. They don't attack the village itself though because Keine and the other human warriors watch over it."

_So are all male youkai weak? Now that I think about it… aren't there a lot of women in Gensokyo? Maybe it's just me._

"Ok then… what are you going to do now? Are you going to try to go back home?" I ask her.

"What? No way! I'm going back to the village to stay with my friend. I'm not leaving the village anytime soon, that's for sure."

I nod to that. "Sure. Let's get you there and out of the rain."

She agrees, and we head down to the village, leaving the fallen youkai on the side of the road.

We both move quickly down the path. She's still pretty shaken up and doesn't say too much to me. Still, I can tell she's happy to have an armed escort take her back to safety.

After a few minutes, we reach the first few buildings of the village. She tugs on my shoulder to get my attention as we pass into the village itself. I turn around to see her offering me something. Three coins.

_Coins? Is this money?_

I step back. "Hey now, I don't need money for this. Keep it."

She steps forward and offers them again. "You saved my life. Please."

I resist for a second, but I soon accept the coins.

She begins to walk ahead of me. "Ok. I'm going to go on now… are you familiar with this town? I can show you around if you need to find someone."

_I guess I don't know the way… _"I'm trying to get to Eientei. Do you know the way from here?"

She thinks for a moment before answering. "I don't know where it is for sure, but you'll need to pass through the town. Just keep going down this street and back out. If you pass the temple on your way out, then you're on the right track."

_Just straight through? Easy enough._

She thanks me once more and runs ahead to find shelter from the rain.

I take a second to check the money she gave me. Three big coins with a large '500' written on it. I recognize them as Japanese yen.

_Yen coins? Is this what they use for money in Gensokyo? I guess everything here is Japanese… but I wonder why no one speaks it._

I shake my head. _Just don't think about that right now. At least it's some money. I'll just take it and keep going forward._

I pocket the coins and make my way into the village and straight down the road I'm on.

Stores line both sides of the street all the way down. Sturdy wood buildings are placed tightly together along either side. They look old, but they serve their purpose.

To my surprise, most of the stores are still open even this late. Restaurants and bars busy themselves with the few late night customers. The warm glow of their interiors lights the weathered street for me, so I shut off the flashlight.

I also notice a few supernatural beings here as well, and they appear quite civilized as opposed to that monster I dealt with earlier. Beasts and spirits duck through the rain and jump from one place to the next.

However, after thinking about what that woman said to me earlier, I can't help but notice that all of these youkai out here are all women. Even amongst the few humans out here, there are no men.

_Geez… where are all the guys? Is it just me and Rinnosuke out here or something? Whatever…_

I let it go and press onward. I say nothing to the passersby, and they ignore me back. I pass by all of the shops, and soon, pass through the town altogether.

_There was a lot of stuff to do back there. Maybe when this clears up, I can take these coins and do something fun… if this really clears up._

The lights begin to lessen as I exit the village. I switch the flashlight back on continue into the darkness. The road becomes cobblestone again, and lamps light the way all the way into the distance.

After walking for a little while, I see one of the lamps hanging off of a sign rather than a post.

_Another sign… I bet they have these around so people like me don't get lost walking around. Let's see…_

One arrow points to 'Bamboo Forest of the Lost' and the other points sideways to 'Myouren Temple and Graveyard'

_Forest of the Lost? Are you serious? Who the hell would build a clinic in a place called the Forest of the Lost?_

I take a quick glance down the road leading to the temple. Lanterns light that way too, and I can see the shadow of a large temple.

_I don't think I should try crossing the Forest of the Lost in these conditions. I need to get Patchouli's medicine, but I won't be able to do that if I get killed along the way. There is a temple here, maybe they can keep me until it's light enough to see._

I decide that going to the forest during a rainstorm at night would be much too dangerous all together. I head on the path leading up towards the temple in hopes of finding a bit of shelter for the rest of the night.

I approach the arch that makes the front gate. The temple appears quite grand, there is a long stone walkway leading up to the temple itself, and has several statues along either side.

I eventually approach the temple itself. There is a large double door leading inside, but it does not look locked.

_Here goes._

I pull on the doors and they swing open. I step inside the temple and quietly shut the doors behind me.

The temple is relatively well lit so I shut off my light. This room is a very large open space with a strange statue at the far end and some kind of symbol on the ground. There are flat cushions facing the statue in a line.

_If this is a temple, then this room is most likely for worshiping of whatever gets worshiped here. I should be careful, I don't want to mess anything up… on second thought, I think I'm just going to stand here next to this door and wait for morning. No need to go stomping around the place after all._

I step to the side and lean on the wall next to the door. I begin to wait.

"Hello? Is someone there?"

A woman's gentle voice floats into the room, followed by its owner. Entering is a mature woman wearing a dress and cloak. Her dress is white, and she has a long black coat with belts that cross over the front. Her long hair has an unusual gradient color that fades from golden to sapphire as it reaches her head.

She doesn't look aggressive from here, but one of her hands has magic flowing around it. Her other hand rests on her hip where there appears to be some kind of small rod or canister… maybe a scroll?

_She probably heard me come in. If I try to hide, she might get mad if she finds me… or maybe I'm not supposed to be here all together… Hmm… what should I do?_

"Hello?" She calls again, more uncertain than before. It seems like she's giving up. I could just wait it out.

But I don't want to betray the trust of a holy temple either. I may have no faith, but after meeting Reimu I have a new respect for the virtuous. I decide to take a risk.

"Excuse me." I call back while slowly approaching her.

It takes her a second to see me emerge from the shadows and into the middle of the room. When she sees me, she releases her magic and lowers her arms to her side.

"Oh. Hello there. I'm sorry if I scared you at all. We have been having problems with thieves breaking into the temple at night, and I thought you may have been one of them. I apologize. My name is Byakuren Hijiri. Welcome." She finishes with a pleasant smile.

_Not hostile. Whew, good. _"I'm Knight. Sorry for busting in. I just needed out of the storm for a while I wait for daylight."

She continues to smile. "Oh, I see. That is fine. This temple welcomes all youkai. Take your time. Please do not make any noise though, as the other worshipers here are trying to sleep right now."

"Thanks. I won't."

I begin to walk back to the spot next to the door, but I notice Byakuren follow me. I turn back around to face her; she's still smiling at me.

"What?" I ask her. I hope she doesn't have some bizarre ideas spinning in her head now that she's found me.

She blinks in confusion. "Oh? I was just wanting to talk some more. Please go ahead. I'll follow you to where it is most comfortable for you."

I feel nervous now. "Just here is fine."

"Are you sure? If you like the darkness more, I can dim the lights. Or if you want, there is a side room that is nice and shady." She offers.

Again her sincerity unnerves me a little, but it does feel genuine. She doesn't look too much older than me, but she just radiates with a wise and saintly aura.

Then again, with her being a youkai, she could very well be much older than me. She has the same eyes Patchouli has, only brown. Dull, lightless eyes that see the world through magic; the eyes of a magician youkai_…_ She could be very, very old.

Byakuren just continues to smile her kind, ladylike smile while she waits for my response.

With how kind she's being to me, I can't help but be honest with her. "No, I don't really like the darkness for any reason. Just here is fine. The only reason I was over there was because I was trying to avoid getting detected."

Her smile fades just a little. "Why is that? The temple has always welcomed youkai. There is no need to be scared. This is a place of peace."

Again, she coaxes honesty out of me without even trying. "Well… I don't know anything about Gensokyo. I'm… er… a new youkai. I wasn't sure if I was going to get attacked or not. I've been getting into fights left and right out here."

She places one hand of her lips followed by a dainty gasp. "Dear, dear Knight… I'm quite sorry to hear that. Gensokyo is notoriously unkind to newcomers. If you ever need to rest here, please do so."

_I doubt I'm coming back here, but good to know. _"Thanks. But I just need to wait for daylight now. I need to get to Eientei."

She goes back to her smiling. "I see. Are you hurt? I can heal you a little if you are injured."

"No thanks. I've got plenty of healing on me. I'm going to get medicine for a friend." I explain.

"Oh. Very good. It is good to hear that there are always those willing to offer a hand to others." Her smile increases to a beaming grin.

"Yeah. I'm helping her out. Although… I've never been to Eientei. I guess it's in the Bamboo Forest of the Lost? What's that place like?" I ask.

"I do not know. I've never gone there myself. I've heard many stories from my allies here though. I hear it is a confusing place for adventurers. Those who stray from the path can become easily lost by the shifting trees. There are also a new species of rabbits there that are known to be aggressive to travelers" She finishes with a slight frown.

_Did I hear that right? _"Er… did you say rabbits?"

She nods. "Yes. Rabbit beasts. Rabbits are usually a harmless race of youkai. Thanks to an experiment done by that strange physician, a new breed of powerful rabbit youkai has been spreading rapidly. They have the mischief and creativity of a rabbit youkai, but the ferocity and strength of a beast youkai. They age quickly and think of nothing but combat once they reach maturity. It is sad to hear of such a development among the youkai."

"That sounds dangerous." _Even if they are just rabbits._

"Unfortunately it is. Lacking the ability to use danmaku, they will bear weapons and traps against enemies. I've heard they can cause grave injuries to unwary travelers." She finishes with another sad sigh. It seem like she strongly dislikes talking about violence.

_Weapons? That could be bad… Still, I can't stop, not yet at least. _"Thanks for the heads up, but I can hold my own. A few beasts aren't going to stop me."

She smiles again. "Of course. I did not mean to doubt your skill. You should be able to reach Eientei without problem."

**Servant. I have returned… You appear to be in a shrine. What are you doing there?**

Arcane's returning presence fills my mind. The clarity I've enjoyed up to this point is now replaced by a poisonous shadow in the back of my mind.

I silently groan to myself and think back to the dark god.

_I'm waiting for the light to come. Apparently, this place I'm going is really dangerous and confusing. I'm going to need daylight to get through.  
_

**I have returned at the sunrise as I said. You should go now.**

_Right… _"Thanks for keeping me Byakuren, but the sun is coming up. I'm going to go now."

She continues to smile, but her eyes hint at a bit of sadness. "Leaving so soon? I was hoping to talk with you more. I rarely get to converse with individuals outside my fellow worshipers… But you have been kind to me. Thank you for your time. Before you go, let me give you a blessing. It is the least I can do for you, knowing what you are going into."

_Blessing? Like a prayer or something?_

**A magical blessing. Magical spells can impart strength into others. Now hold still.**

Byakuren takes the object on her side, which I realize is a scroll, and opens it. She spreads both arms out wide, separating the two handles as far as she can.

At first, there is nothing there, but then letters begin to appear on it. The letters glow and stream across the length of the scroll like a neon sign. It looks like a series of nonsense syllables to me, but Byakuren seems to make sense of it.

She whispers an ominous chant that contrasts her saintly nature. The air vibrates with each word she speaks. Her voice begins to echo off the walls, and ribbons of red light begin to swirl around me.

_Whoa, what the? What's this feeling? Energy is running through me. Is this magic?_

The magic lights swirl faster and faster, forming a magical vortex around me. The vortex seems to pull in hidden magical energies into my body. I feel a sharp thrill in the back of my skull as my own energy levels skyrocket higher than what I thought I could ever withstand. The dark energy inside me boils and stirs as it is supercharged by Byakuren's spell.

Byakuren closes her scroll and puts it at her side again. "There. With my blessing, your magic will not fail you. This is the only comfort I can grant for now. It will be a hard journey, but you have my faith now."

_I can feel her power flowing through my entire being. She isn't joking about the blessing, this is great._

**You should leave before it's effects go to waste.**

"Thanks Byakuren. Any bit of help I can get makes a difference. This means a lot to me." I respectfully say to her.

She smiles her usual smile once again. "Of course. Anything for our fellow youkai. If you have time, please come by during the day, when we are all awake. There are other youkai here who would enjoy meeting a newcomer such as you."

"Sure, if I ever get the time." I start to make back for the door. "I've got to go now. Goodbye."

"Goodbye for now." She replies.

I walk across the empty room and towards the door. Byakuren's footsteps begin to move away from me.

"Oh, wait. One more thing." She calls back to me.

I spin around and wait for her to continue.

"Do not visit the graveyard or catacombs. They are unsafe."

I nod. "Sure thing, thanks. Goodbye."

I step back out the door and into the rain. It is still dark because of the rain clouds, but it's getting brighter. The storm is fading fast, and has reduced to just a light rainfall.

Deciding I no longer need it, I put the flashlight back into my pocket and head out into the dim early morning. I go back out the temple and down to the fork in the road.

I turn towards the Bamboo Forest of the Lost. I can see the shadows of the tall bamboo tress looming in the distance.

**Soon you will be done with this useless chore.**

_It's just up ahead. Eientei is in there somewhere. I get the medicine, and come back before nightfall. Easy._

I march towards the forest, ready to face whatever trial I may encounter there.

_Don't you worry Patchouli, I'll be back in time. Now, let's go find this doctor._

* * *

_A/N  
_

Thank you for reading my latest chapter.

Just stating my opinion... but Byakuren is one of my favorite characters in the series. She seems like one of the few people in Gensokyo who actually cares about the well being of it's people, albeit in an unusual way. The fact that she uses magic that enhances abilities made it easy to put her in the roll that supports Knight.

When I'm writing this story, I know I need to define the world in a way that not only makes it understandable, but interesting. At the same time, I want to show how that particular world I defined is alive, not just there. In this chapter, the mention of Eirin's experiments creating a new species of youkai is my attempt to show how the world is still alive and changing, and that unexpected things are still occur. I hope to try and keep things interesting with scenario's like this.

Thank you again. The next chapter will be ready soon.


	19. Unusual Opposition

The Bamboo Forest of the Lost now looms in front of me. The trees tower high above me, and reach all the way to the sky. The clusters of bamboo are thick and outwardly impassible, save for the path in front of me.

The path in front of me shifts from cobblestone to brick, and runs straight into the forest. The bricks are laid tall atop each other, raising the path a step above the ground. The surrounding ground is now under flooding waters, leaving the path ahead the only solid ground to walk on.

Next to the path is a sign; one I've already read through. It's got about sixty different warnings of things not to do in the forest. About twenty of those say the same thing: 'stay on the path'.

The place in front of me is serene… yet forbidding. I hesitate to enter.

**What do you wait for? Go on already.**

_Am I really going in there? Alone? And there's hostile monsters in there?_

**Yes.**

I shiver. _Oh man… This is going to be bad, I know it._

**Are you a coward? Get on with it!**

Arcane's prodding finally pushes me forward. I step up onto the brick path and begin cautiously walking into the forest.

After a few minutes of slow walking, the world behind me disappears behind the horizon of bamboo. All is quiet, save for the water slapping on the bricks. The flooding is just an inch beneath the side of the road; still fueled by the steady rain.

_It looks like this is a natural flood area… I wonder how the trees stand it._

Arcane responds to my aimless thinking. **Does it matter? They are just plants. Stop thinking about the scenery and focus on your pace.**

_I know. It's just that… Byakuren said that there are youkai here that know how to use traps. With all this water around, I could easily walk right past a trap without being able to see it. Nothing's happened yet, but…_

**Hmm. I see. This forest is known to be confusing. I doubt you will see an attacker here even if you looked for them. Your best option is to move through as quickly as you can before you are attacked.**

_What? No way. That's suicide tactics! I'm not taking any chances with my life here. We go slow._

I Ignore Arcane's advice and continue my current speed. I've almost got a rhythm going now.

Step… Step… Step… Step…

Splash.

"What?'

I look over to the trees at my right from where the splash originated from. I don't see anything there.

_What was-_

Then, a rustle in the other direction. The wind here is dead, and the rain is moderate, so the rustle of bamboo leaves stands out

I spin back around, but there is only more bamboo; thick as ever.

"Who's there?" I ask to the distance.

I am answered with more splashes from behind me again. Several rough splashes, like running footsteps, head this way. I turn back in hopes of catching a glimpse of something, but only find ripples in the flooding water.

A few more rustles and another rush of footsteps in the water ring out as unseen figures gather around me. I have the strong sensation like I'm being watched now.

"Who is it? Show yourselves!" I shout to the forest.

**Eyes watch you now. Be careful.**

_What should I do then?_

**Nothing yet. Be patient, and let them move first.**

Deciding that waiting around for them is not helping, I begin to travel again. The sounds of rustling in the bamboo follow me. I occasionally look around in hopes of finding something, but they remain unseen.

_Are they just going to follow me? Byakuren said that these new beasts like battles. Is she wrong? Or are they just waiting for the best time to strike? Or maybe something else is following me._

**I do not know.**

_Grrr… this is just stupid! I can't just have a bunch of monsters shadow me all the way to Eientei. I have to get their attention somehow._

I bring out my pistol and scan the trees. After finding nothing, I fire off a warning shot into the sky. The sound of the gunfire shatters the peace of the forest.

"Just show yourselves already!"

**What are do you think you are doing?**

_Trying to get them to come out. If I can't coax them out, then I'll have to provoke them. I won't let them follow me any longer. It's too much of a risk._

I wait for a response.

Suddenly, a shadow rushes in from high above. Someone soundlessly lands in front of me.

I wasn't expecting someone to actually come out though.

"Whoa! Where the-guh!" I jump backwards and accidentally trip. I flop onto the stone with a hard thud.

I quickly try to recover from my fall before I get attacked. I sit up and begin to stand, but the other person pounces on top of me and pins me down.

My assailant kneels on my chest and leans down to me. I can see only her head from down here. She has inhuman silver eyes and jet black hair. Poking out from the top of her head are two long white bunny ears; something that I find just bizarre.

She smiles as she looks down on me. I can see her teeth are distinctly pointed and glistening with moisture.

"Got you…" She whispers to me, breathing heavily in excitement as she eyes her prey. A bolt of horror runs down my spine.

_Oh, that looks bad! Get off!_

Using my free hand, I shove her off and crawl back up. The rabbit beast has already flipped back onto her feet.

_What is this thing? What the heck is with the ears? And those teeth…_

I can see her clearly now. She appears to be just eighteen or so, but Byakuren said they are aggressive when mature; which means this is a fully grown rabbit beast. She is wearing only minimal clothing; a short top and skirt made mostly from pieces of scrap cloth. She is tall and slender, and would look like a beautiful amazon if it weren't for the evil look she has.

She reaches for the quiver of javelins strung around her waist and draws out one of the small bamboo spears.

**Kill this creature. She is an abomination unlike anything I've seen before.**

_Yeah… Sorry girl, but it's time for you to go!_

I raise Deceiver and fire it at her before she can hurl any spears at me. The fiery bullets rip her apart, spilling blood over the wet stone path.

She reels backwards and falls to her side. She's groaning in pain, but is not yet dead.

_There, I downed her. Now-gyah!_

I lurch forward from a terrible blow to my back. Something just stabbed me.

I spin around and find my attacker. There are six more rabbit youkai similar to the one I just dealt with. All of them are black haired, silver eyed hunters. They all have the same psychotic eagerness the other one had when she lunged at me. Some of them only smile a little, but others bare their teeth in a vile grin. Their white eyes are all set on me.

The one who just fired is reloading her crossbow. The others have various ranged weapons aimed at me; including bows, crossbows, throwing knives, and javelins.

**Hmph. A hunting party. They should not pose any challenge.**

_Agh… my back is… I think I've been shot._

**You are not yet dead. Fight!**

_Grr… fine. You're right, I've got to survive this first. Just need to ignore it as best I can._

I resist the pain in my back and bring my aim against the group. They fire at me first, sending a wave of various wooden missiles at me.

I roll sideways and avoid the attacks; arrows and blades whiz all around me. I then return my aim and fire at them until I run out of shots.

Bullets tear at the small party, but they all stay standing. The one in the front is injured the most, and she takes to one knee.

There is another rush and two more rabbit beasts leap down from above. One with a bow and quiver, the other toting a throwing knife in each hand.

I quickly reload another summoned magazine into the gun and prepare to fire again. As I do, a knife made from pressed bamboo nicks my hand and draws a bit of blood before whirling by.

The close brush with the throwing knife startles me. _Ah! That's sharp! I don't think I'm going to survive a ranged fight against these if more keep showing up. I need something to take them all down fast. Let's try rattling them up a bit._

"Explosive Anomaly!"

I send out a bomb into the group. Fierce heat and shockwaves punish and blind them, but they only stagger for a few seconds before recovering.

But something else catches my attention just then. Casting magic did not have any effect on me that time. _What's this? My energy is still completely maxed out. Let's try another._

I shout my spell once again. "Explosive Anomaly!"

I blast the rabbits again with only minimal effort. Byakuren's blessing completely takes the edge off of using magic. Any energy I lost is instantly refilled by her power.

"And… Again!" I send out Explosive Anomaly once more. Again, no energy cost.

**You are imbued with magic. Do not hold back! Crush them!**

"Hrrrraaaa!" I conjure and hurl another magical bomb. A fourth pulverizing shockwave sends them reeling. Three of them succumb to their injuries and pass out. The other five are barely hanging on.

_Whew, casting without the cost is so much easier! Now to finish them off._

I target the five standing rabbit youkai with Deceiver. But just as I'm about to fire, something strikes me over the head…

"Gah! Ah, ow! Grah! Ack!" I stumble about as one of the rabbit's own bombs hits me this time. A shower of stinging salts burn my eyes and throat.

In my confusion, I let myself get hit again. A powerful stone tipped arrow nails me directly in the shoulder.

"Nngh!" I grunt in pain.

**What are you doing? Kill them.**

_Would you fucking shut up? I'm trying here!_

Deciding that ranged and magic aren't working out for me, I turn next to melee.

I summon my scythe, Nightmare, and rush towards the youkai.

They retreat from my advance. Jumping and flipping backwards with impossible agility. Some of them jump several feet into the air before landing. I can still keep up with them, but they remain out of my blade's reach.

One of them tries lobbing another bomb at me, but I duck under it and continue.

I give into frustration and anger and continue to chase them down the path. "You think you can run? You aren't running from this!"

I focus my attack, activating the scythe's mechanisms. I make a final desperate sprint to bring one of them into reach.

When I get close enough, I swing Nightmare sideways and it sends out a flat blade of energy. The projectile slashes the closest one, and she collapses to the ground. Before she can get back up and attack me again I run over to her and deliver a swift stomp, knocking her unconscious.

"Take that! Now for the rest of you." I step over the defeated youkai and towards the group. My injuries are slowing me, but they are slowing even faster.

There is more sounds of approaching attackers. Five more rabbit youkai join in and take the lead against me, allowing the four injured to take the back and recuperate.

_Damn. More? I can't keep fighting them all! Just give up already!_

The five in front line up in a row of crossbows. They all fire simultaneously, sending a volley of bolts to me.

A well timed spin from Nightmare deflects the bolts. I twirl the staff in front of me at the last second, bouncing the enemy attacks off my metal weapon.

_Got them! You're mine now!_

I begin to charge towards them again, but the four in the back have already recovered. One of them leaps high into the air and hurls something down at me. Coming this way is a small jar with fire rising out from the top.

_What? Oh no! Firebomb!_

I halt my advance and try to turn back, but the jar lands right at my feet. A thick splash of slick fiery oil splashes onto my legs and feet.

"Gaaah!" I recoil backwards as heat punishes my legs. I quickly wipe off the stinging oil with a sleeve from my jacket, but not before it leaves a smoking hole through my jeans and into knee.

The rabbit youkai take advantage of my pain and fire back at me all together this time. I frantically run to the side to avoid the attacks, but sustain another hit. A knife slides through my jacket and into my gut. The blade does not stick though and slides back out on its own, generating a small stream of blood on its way out.

I choke and gasp in pain. I can feel more of my life leave me. This is the worst fight I've had yet. My injuries are adding up, and the enemies are still standing.

I'm getting killed.

_Ack… hmmph… Arcane? I'm losing… They just keep coming. I'm going to die!_

**I can tell you again and again and yet you still don't get it. Adapt. Or. Die.**

_That's it? Grr… Fine. I'll adapt. I'll blow these freaks right out off the road. Haaaaa!_

My cold anger gives into a new spell. I willingly let the evil words come through my mouth.

"The flame of life shall be put into the cold shadow. Bring freezing death to all in my path! Harrowing Blizzard!"

The dark green energy spins all around me. The temperature drops as my power dissolves into the air and brings it under my command. The swirling energy becomes a whirling cyclone of frigid air and ice.

With the wave of my hand, the air flies forward all at once in a massive cone. The spell is like a rolling wave of ice. The rabbit's incoming projectiles are cast aside by the wind, while their exposed bodies are ruthlessly frozen.

It takes a second to finish the entire spell, but the results are worth it. Both poorly dressed and unprepared for such chilling temperatures, they all cry out in agony and recoil backwards. Their frost covered bodies tremble in pain and cold. One of them seizes up and collapses altogether, leaving eight left.

**Impressive.**

_Now, to gun you all down for good!_

I concentrate my powers to make a new weapon. Something I know would be powerful against strong mobs. A short barreled gun with a high rate of fire.

My magic flows into and distorts the weapon. The thing I summon is not of my design, but it's close enough.

Again, the body of the gun is a reflective crimson metal. It's not too much larger than my other pistol. The barrel is just as long, but also stout. It lacks any sighting gear on it, but has a tiny grip on the underside of the barrel for my other hand if I want controlled fire; although it is small enough for just one hand. The handle is longer to accommodate a greater number of bullets needed to sustain it's high rate of fire.

I summon the ammo for it with little effort thanks to Byakuren. Blue fire forms a thin and long stick of bullet flame for the weapon. I load the ammo into the machine pistol and grip it with both hands.

**Another monstrosity poured from your own soul. You are doing well. Pour destruction down on these beasts!  
**

_Gladly! I am ready to be done with these freaks!_

I raise my weapon against the rabbit youkai and let loose a stream of shots. The weapon's high rate of fire is difficult to control, the shots are weak, and it's inaccurate, but it's a sheer storm of ruthless gunfire.

Still unable to stand up from my freezing spell, they have no choice but to take the bullets. Sweeping automatic fire rips them asunder, and they all suffer my deadly assault.

I don't know how many shots this thing fires, but it was enough. The remaining eight rabbit beasts all fall down, one by one. Blood spreads all over the roads and into the flooded ground.

The gun clicks empty as the last one falls. I quickly reload it and scan the area ahead for more attackers, but no one is standing.

I wait around for just a second to see if more will arrive.

_I think I-_

"Such a strong fighter…"

A whisper behind me grabs my attention, and I spin around to see who it is.

There is one more rabbit beast approaching me. She's a little tougher looking than the rest. Rather than just wraps and undergarments, this one is actually dressed in leather chest armor and pants. The fact that she is wielding a metal katana as opposed to some other wooden weapon makes me think she might be a ranking warrior amongst this group.

_Another? Damn it all. I can't keep fighting like this!_

**She is the last one. Use your weapon! Rip her to pieces!**

She slowly advances on me. "I like the strong ones… the others die so fast… but I bet you'll die slowly. I'm going to enjoy this."

"This little shredder in my hand says otherwise!" I reply.

_Shredder… if that's what we're calling you, then it's time to do your job!_

I pull the trigger on the renamed machine pistol and fire a stream of bullets towards her.

The warrior girl uses her rabbit agility to jump high over my bullets. Then using her bestial might, lands feet first right onto my head and drives me into the ground. A little blood flies out of my mouth as her heel digs into my chin.

Standing above me, she raises her sword and prepares to execute me with a final stab.

_No you don't!_

I recover myself enough to raise Shredder up against her. I wildly fire at her at deadly close range.

"Ah!" She jumps backwards the second she is injured by rapid gunfire. I take the time to pull myself up.

She still stands firm thanks to her chest armor, but a little blood still runs from the few holes I put in her.

"You hurt me? I've never been hurt before. " She whispers to herself while curiously poking her wounds.

"You're going to get a lot worse than just hurt now." I send away my gun and summon back my scythe.

She sees the blade and smiles in spite of her discomforting injury. It looks like a one on one melee now, and that's exactly what she wants.

She zooms at me with her blade pointed forward.

_I'll make quick work of you this time. _"Mysterious Tremor!"

My spell reduces her run to a weak shuffle. She's only barely holding onto the blade now.

I approach her with my scythe and bring it against her. Swinging straight down into her shoulder and dragging the tipped crescent blade down her torso.

When I bring the blade all the way down and back to my side, she makes her next move. She uses my opening to her advantage, and hurls a cloud of dust into my face. I choke and step back.

She then regains her balance and lunges at me with the sword, bringing it straight down over me. Forced back by the dust and the sword, I only barely manage to bring my scythe's staff up to catch her blade.

She bears down with all of her youkai might, trying to saw through the mechanical handle with her iron blade. She might not break it, but her strength is still unbearable. She's slowly getting closer to me. Just one slip and she'll be able to twist the blade right into my throat.

I take a risk and grab her sword hand. "Grr… Harrowing Blizzard!"

I send a fierce blast of cold right into her. Arctic air and ice fragments engulf her completely.

"Aaaaah!" She cries in pain from the Ice. The forceful wind sends her a step back. She continues to back away from the onslaught of frost.

**Now, finish her off.**

I spin my scythe and knock her down with the staff. She lies on the ground trembling and writhing from cold.

I walk over to her and raise my scythe… but then return it to my side.

**What are you doing?**

I sigh and take a step back. I let the youkai slowly recover from the ice and stand back up.

She looks at me with wild silver eyes. She has a surprised look on her face. Pained tears slowly begin to form under her eyes.

"You hurt really bad. I don't want to fight you anymore." She halfway whines.

"Then why did you attack me?" I demand.

**Are you showing mercy? This is below you! Finish her off now!**

I ignore him and let her answer.

She looks confused "Why?"

"Yes, why?"

Her rabbit ears twitch. She does not seem to know how to respond right away. "I… don't know. "

She does not say any more. She turns back around and walks towards her incapacitated friends. She goes over to each one and picks them up off the ground and onto their feet. To my surprise, they all manage to stand.

They all eventually get back up and limp into the forest. The sword wielding warrior gives me a final glance before following them.

_Did she just ignore me? Or did she give up because she was confused?_

**You wasted your breath on that animal. You self-righteous fool! You continue to surpass your limits, yet you resist your own power. It confounds me as to how you could both impress me and disappoint me in the same turn.**

I almost laugh a little at the god's frustration. _I'll tell you again, I'm not like you. Get used to it buddy._

Arcane hisses one last time before giving up.

_Next, I need to take care of these injuries. These hurt like hell!_

I dismiss my weapons and work at getting the projectiles and bamboo fragments out of my body. Digging at them causes the pain to drastically worsen, and the bleeding to increase.

After a few seconds I finish. _Ok, I think I got them all out. Now let's see how well this stuff works._

I reach into my pocket and draw the healing potion out. I unscrew the cap and take a gulp of the gooey liquid; just a fourth of the overall amount.

A chilling wave travels up and down my body. My head feels light for a minute before leveling out. There is a hissing sound as my wounds close and revert back to normal. Every scrape and bruise fades as well.

I gently tap my injured areas to test them and find that the pain is completely gone. The only thing left is a few holes in my clothes.

_I'm healed… whew. That was scary. Really scary. I don't want to come that close in a fight ever again!_

**I doubt you will have that luxury. Now then…**

Arcane's presence intensifies as he claims the blood on me just as he did when I first arrived here. The stains in my jacket fizzle away.

_That's still kind of weird Arcane… whatever. Let's just go now._

I shrug off a bit of dust and glance back towards the road behind me. The blood on the road is slowly being washed out by the steady rain. Soon, there will be no trace of the battle.

_Another random skirmish in Gensokyo survived and gone. I'm glad I pulled through alright. Now, I'm losing time. I need to hurry and get to this clinic before I run out of daylight._

I resume walking along the path, this time a brisk walk. I'm certain I won't get attacked again anytime soon, and I'll have to move quickly if I want to reach this place and get back in time. It's still only morning, but I have a long ways back.

_Maybe Byakuren can give me a speed boost or a lift if I go back to her._

Looming behind the bamboo in the distance is a mansion. Eientei is just around the corner.

_I can figure travel out later. First things first. It's time to pay doctor Eirin a visit._

* * *

A/N

Thank you for reading my latest chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.

This fight scene is probably the last random opponent battle in this story. Aside from just writing this into the story, I also wanted to generate a more serious encounter for Knight. Nothing is certain against a youkai, and I wanted to show that. Mistakes are made, injuries are sustained, it's a desperate struggle. I thought Knight has been getting off easy with combat so far, and this time it really hits him. Luck can't last forever.

Now that this chapter is finished, it's time to start unraveling one of the main plot points of this act of the story.

Thank you again. The next chapter will be ready soon. I got a whole week off from work and volunteering before school, and I hope to get at least two uploads before I start.


	20. Confrontations

Slowly, the path rises. The stone bricks give way to solid earth as I approach Eientei.

The mansion in front me is backed into a large hill, situating it high above the rest of the forest and the flooded ground. It has a strong Japanese flare to it. The mansion isn't particularly tall, but the wide flaring roofs and extensive grounds make it look very large. It could possibly be larger than the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

There is a wall and gate surrounding the place, but to my surprise, they are open. The heavy gates made from wood and iron are swung outward. There are no guards out here and no other outward defenses.

I feel a bit relieved. _Finally here. And no weird greetings this time either. I just have to find the clinic. I wonder where they keep it in such a place. A mansion like this seems hardly fitting for a public pharmacy._

I walk through the gates and up to the front doors. The doors are unlocked, and I open them and enter without any problem.

Once inside, I see a long hall extending all the way into the depths of the mansion. It seems to go on forever. Thankfully, the place I'm looking for is right next to me. A small banner over a nearby door marks the clinic. I walk over and enter the side door.

The clinic room is small, but surprisingly modern looking. There's a waiting sofa facing a counter on opposite ends of the room. Behind the counter are a pair of shelves with glass doors. One has all sorts of modern medical supplies; like bandages, painkiller, trauma bags, and anything else that you could stock a first-aid kit with.

The other shelf is full of bottles of medicine, all labeled and organized. The labels marking them are quite interesting to me. Some of the bottles are simple cures, but they get crazier. 'Electrocution trauma' and 'heart attack' are among the few curatives here, as well as several other things that would seem logically impossible to cure with mere pills or potion. There are also several enhancing drugs that defy reasoning. High energy formulas, beauty augmentations, dream pills, and countless others.

I continue to scan the shelves. _Look at all of that stuff. Do those really work? Just who is this Eirin anyways?_

**Ah, I have heard of tales of this woman. A famed scholar and healer that hails from the ancient moon people. She is capable of creating any cure with her alchemical skills. However, she made a very foolish decision once, and was turned away by her own people. An exile.**

_Huh. You sure seem to know quite a bit about that._

**I've spent the past twelve millennia observing from the shadows. Do not doubt my wisdom.**

Suddenly, footsteps from outside end our conversation. The door opens again, and a young girl walks in.

The first thing I notice is her rabbit ears standing out on the top of her purplish hair. Her long rabbit ears similar to the ones the attackers from earlier had. But in contrast, she is not very tall or strong looking. The other odd thing I noticed about her is her attire. She is dressed in a black button-up dress shirt, red tie, and white skirt; she looks like a somewhat casual, yet very modern businesswoman.

"Excuse me." She walks past me and around towards the counter. I notice she is avoiding my eyes. Her hair is cast over her eyes, and she only looks at me sideways, or with quick glances. I can tell her eyes are red and that she looks young, but her hair and odd behavior conceals any details.

_Maybe she's just shy._ I think to myself.

She walks around to the counter and takes her spot behind it.

"Good day. Sorry to make you wait." She speaks softly and keeps her gaze downward. She looks very uncomfortable.

_This can't be…_

"Are you Eirin?" I ask.

"No. She is-"

"Just getting back." Another voice interrupts her.

The door opens again and another figure enters. A mature silver haired woman wearing a long dress that alternates between blue and red. Her hair is tied into an extremely long and elaborate braid, and is topped with a matching red and blue hat. I notice her hat is marked with a red first-aid cross.

"Are you the doctor here?" I ask the newcomer.

She smiles a little. "Doctor Eirin Yagokoro. It's a pleasure to meet you. Would I be right in assuming that you are new here?"

"Sort of. I'm on errands for Patchouli Knowledge. My name is Knight."

"Then you're here for the Ambrosia. Did you bring her prescription order?" She extends an open hand towards me. "Let me see it. This isn't something I can just hand out to anyone."

_Um… _I work through my pockets and eventually find the paper packet that Patchouli gave me. Thankfully, it's not wet. I hand the whole bundle to Eirin.

Eirin opens it up and unfolds it's contents. There are some bills and an order sheet with a long list of information on it.

She hands the papers and money to the other girl at the counter. "Reisen, could you get the prescription order for Ms. Knowledge?"

"Of course."

The girl named Reisen steps away from the counter and back out the door, taking care not to meet my gaze. She disappears back into the main hall, leaving me and Eirin alone.

_Reisen is it… _"Who was that anyways?"

"Reisen Udongein Inaba. She is my protégé, and an exceptionally rare moon rabbit. I wouldn't recommend looking into her eyes though; it's bad for the psyche. She's not very sociable, but she's been an invaluable assistant nonetheless."

_Hm…_

Something about this woman really bothers me. She sounds pleasant, but she has a slightly haughty attitude. Her face is the complete opposite of Byakuren; lively eyes with a somewhat dull expression. It reminds me of Remilia. Talking with her is a little uncomfortable to me… perhaps I'm finding out I have a thing against high-class women.

Eirin walks over to the sofa and takes a seat. She breathes a sigh of relaxation as she does.

"Tired?" I ask.

She leans back into the chair a little bit. "Unfortunately. I've been running all over the place trying to get research notes on the new rabbit sub-species. Keeping track of them is a hassle for me."

_Research notes… wait… So you were the crazy person that Byakuren was talking about! Your little research project almost got me killed! _I angrily think to myself.

**Calm yourself. She is hardly worth your efforts.**

I disagree with him. I want an answer.

"Was that your doing? Your experiments almost killed me on the way here. I was lucky I was strong enough to fight them off. How could you do such a thing? You're a doctor, not a mad scientist! Humans are getting killed and injured by those things. What if someone really needed your medicine and couldn't get here because of those creatures? Are you insane? What were you thinking?" I keep a calm voice, but my anger seethes into my words.

Eirin glares at me, but does not shout back. "I would mind your tone boy. I may be a doctor, but I will not hesitate to throw you out if you are going to talk to me like this."

I take a deep breath before replying. "Sorry. I'm a new youkai from the outside world. The fact that someone would unleash monsters willingly just… I don't know. At least give me an explanation, you owe me that much."

She focuses on me. "Fine. I'll spare you the details as you probably wouldn't understand anyways. I was trying to create an elite rabbit youkai race that could protect the other rabbits here. Earth's rabbits are too weak, and humans and youkai alike have started treating them as food. I take one of the girls and work a few experiments on her, and after a while I create a new youkai rabbit that is capable of defending itself. Success."

_Ok… _"So how did this happen then?"

"She escaped. They're a quick growing, quick learning species. After a few weeks, the original youkai got smart enough to learn how to escape through a hole in the roof. She ran out into the forest and ended up getting herself a mate. The adults pass their knowledge and traits down to their children, and they've been evolving ever since. I'm keeping tabs on them in hopes of being able to assimilate them back into their intended role. It's a… ongoing live experiment."

_She doesn't even care? People are getting killed and all she can think about is her little pets? Damn this woman…_

"So you mean to say you're going to let these people suffer while you try to figure out how to get this new type of youkai under control?" I severely ask.

"A small price."

_I cannot believe you! _"You're insane. You can't do this."

She looks at me with a wicked twinkle in her eyes. "Silly boy, of course I can. I do experiments all the time. You don't become a genius by being careful. Progress comes at a price, and it's expensive sometimes."

I can think of nothing else to say to that. She won't listen to me. In her eyes, I'm just a stupid kid that doesn't get it.

She sits up and suddenly changes the topic. "Speaking of experiments… maybe you can help me with one."

_I don't like where this is going… Maybe arguing with a no-morals scientist was a bad idea. What is taking that assistant so damn long?_

I hesitate to continue the discussion. "W-what do you have in mind?"

She stands up and walks over to the shelf with the medicine and opens it. "You know good men like you are rare right? Very rare actually. Most male youkai have weak spirits, and never become anything more than rabid animals or ghouls."

She finds what she's looking brings it over to me. She has an unlabeled bottle of liquid medicine.

"This is a medicine to instill tranquility in the mind of a man. It is intended to make male youkai less feral. I was wondering if you might be willing to take part in a little trial run. Just to see how it affects the sane." She holds the medicine out for me to accept.

_This girl is nuts! _

I gently push her hand back. "No. No way. I'm not taking untested experimental medicine."

"It has been tested. It's just that most men are too stupid to talk to me about it. Please, you'll be doing me a favor." She steps forward and offers the bottle again. I reject her once more and step back.

**This is a waste of time. Why are you still here? Grab what you came for and leave! More important things are stirring.**

_Quiet. You're not the one getting pushed around by a crazy doctor._

She suddenly begins to smile, putting on her best 'nice doctor' face, which does nothing to put me at ease. She suddenly turns around and walks back to the counter and pulls something out. A small needle.

She slowly walks over to me with the needle. "I understand you're just a little bit nervous around me. Maybe I can help loosen you up a little. Perhaps a little sedative would make you a bit more comfortable?"

I hurriedly retreat to a far corner. _She would drug me to test her medicine? This is… this is just wrong! Where is that rabbit? I need to get out of here._

"If you so much as touch me with that needle." I warn.

She does not stop. "You silly boy. This medicine is good for you. You can trust me. I am a doctor after all."

She's just one step away, face to face with me. Without waiting for my consent she begins to bring the needle to the side of my neck.

I summon Fiend and hold the blade between me and her. "Back off doc."

She halts, but does not retreat. "Oh my. A conjurer I see. It seems my patient might be a little feisty."

_Oh this is just great. A trip to the doctor couldn't possibly get any worse. _"I'm not your patient, and I'm not putting up with this shit. Back up, now."

She does not listen. "Such an uncooperative _patient _you are. Perhaps I'll need a stronger sedative."

There is a tiny flash of light, and the small syringe disappears. It is replaced by a much larger needle dripping with thick solution.

She resumes bringing her needle at me with the same affectionate smile. "Now hold still. You won't feel more than a pinch."

I grab her needle to stop her. She grabs my sword hand to stop it. We stand there staring each other. To her, I'm a new test subject. To me, she's death in disguise.

After being deadlocked for what for what felt like forever, footsteps echo outside. Eirin suddenly steps away and hides the sedative needle in whatever magic pocket she summoned it from. She goes back to the sofa, leaving me frozen against the corner.

The door then opens, and Reisen returns with a small plastic bottle and a new set of papers. I breathe a sigh of relief and release the sword.

_Thank you girl! Please save me, your master is a crazy woman!_

"There you are. You certainly took a while." Eirin sounds disappointed. She's completely ignoring the fact that she just tried to force sedative onto me. It seems she still tries to set a good example for her pupil.

Reisen is already looking down, so her apologetic bow looks silly. "I'm sorry master. It was just that Ms. Margatroid's medicine order was empty, so I took a moment to refill it for next time."

_Alice?_

I decide to ask about her. "Hey, have either of you two noticed anything unusual about Alice recently? I… er… let's just say I bumped into her and she wasn't quite herself. A tip from a friend of mine hints that she might be getting into some bad stuff. Um… like evil magic kind of stuff that is."

Eirin responds immediately. "Starting a few months ago, she started ordering large amounts of energy pills and anti-sleep medicine. She's already an insomniac, so whatever she's doing that's keeping her up must be more important than common sense. I tried telling her that medicine can't replace an honest rest, but she won't listen. She's such a troubled girl…"

Reisen adds her details next. "She actually just came by. That was about an hour before you came. You just missed her."

_Just missed? I would have seen her in the forest then… Unless she flew, that would make sense._

**She conveniently flies over you just as you are coming here. Her movements are too strange to be coincidence. She's following you.**

I worry what she might be doing, but I let it go.

I'm more eager to get out of this office anyways. "Ok, thanks anyways. I'll just be on my way now."

I walk over to Reisen, who packs up the bottle and papers and hands them to me.

"Be careful with it." She says.

"I will. Thanks Reisen."

I begin to turn for the door, but stop short. Eirin has repositioned herself next to the door and is holding it open for me. I cautiously slip past her.

"Goodbye. Oh, and I'll just go ahead and schedule that appointment we talked about a week from now. Be sure to arrive on time. I'd hate to have to send someone to come get you." She politely states.

I look back and glare at her. _This woman does not give up does she?_

She just smiles back, feigning cluelessness. "Don't forget. Goodbye." She twirls around and enters the clinic again.

I exit the mansion. Once I clear the gate and begin to make my way back into the forest I take a deep breath…

"What a freak!" I say to myself.

**The lunarian is too enigmatic for my tastes. **Even Arcane is disgusted.

_Enigma nothing! She's a complete nut! You saw her attack me right? I mean come on! I'm glad I'm out of there, because that was way too weird for me._ I think as I step back onto the forest path.

The rain has subsided now. A faintly cool breeze dries the ground and pushes away the clouds. The sun filters through the gray sky and down into the forest around me.

The sun is out, and yet I feel a harsh chill. The temperature is much lower than before.

_Ugh. Cold… why is it cold? I'm in a bamboo forest._

**This air is full of angered spirits. Something dark approaches.**

It doesn't take me long to figure out what it is.

Up ahead is a girl. A thin teenage-looking girl wearing a blue dress and white stole. Her vibrant blonde hair is kept in check with a red hairband.

_Alice… she's here. Was she waiting for me?_

She's lounging backwards in the air, sitting on nothing while she waits for my approach. In her hands is a black book held shut with red cloth; definitely not the one Rumia described. At the same time though, she has an unearthly air, and not just from being a youkai either.

The air around her is darker; like a mist of shadows. The bamboo shadows on the ground around her twist and squirm unnaturally. The dark presence around her steadily escapes into the air, bringing an unnatural chill.

She acknowledges me with flat green eyes. "Hello Knight."

"Alice." I greet back, not bothering to question how she already knows me.

The shadows around her lessen and she 'stands' upright. "Before we start. There is one thing I need to deal with."

She snaps one of her fingers, and a blue light appears. The light grows brighter and brighter until it reaches a blinding climax. The light then fades, and a doll appears. The doll is about only a foot long from head to toe. She has a black frilly dress and a red bow in her blonde hair.

At least I assume it's a doll. The attention to detail is uncanny. Her dress is made of real cloth, and her face and skin is made from something finer than silk. Her mouth is remains a frozen line, but her marble eyes curiously blink as she awaits her summoner's order.

Alice points to one of the trees. "Shanghai, that's an enemy."

The doll named Shanghai nods in confirmation. In a similar manner to my weapons, Shanghai materializes a mighty longsword and kite shield. The weapons are ridiculously oversized for the doll, but she holds it with ease.

Shanghai turns to the spot Alice targeted and zooms off like a torpedo. She disappears into the forest for a brief second before a pained shriek rings out.

Something falls down onto the path in the distance. Something with black feathered wings.

"Aya! What are you doing here?" I call out.

**As I thought. She has been following us. Bothersome pest.**

"Ayaya…" She whimpers as she rubs a new scratch on her cheek.

Alice drifts over to her, and I follow. When we reach the collapsed Aya, Alice floats high over her and glares downward at her.

"Go home Aya." Alice orders.

Aya's wings twitch, and she looks up at her. "Wha? And miss this? Your practicing forbidden magic Alice. How could I possibly pass up this scoop?"

"I said go home. I'm not in a good mood."

Aya opens her mouth to protest, but something causes her eyes to go wide, and it's not the shadows surrounding Alice. Aya pulls away just as Shanghai dives straight down where her head just was. A high metallic note rings out as her blade pierces the brick road and sinks deep into the stone and earth.

Shanghai flies back up and draws the sword out with her. She begins to drift towards Aya, but the tengu gets the message and retreats. A loud crack of her wings, and she's gone for good.

Alice lowers herself and faces me. Shanghai hovers to her left side.

She snaps her finger again. "Hourai, come out here too."

There is another blue flare, and another doll appears. Her facial features and hair match Shanghai, but this one dons a flowing red gown. She materializes a long spiked lance along with her shield. Hourai flies down to Alice's right.

Then, they both aim their weapons at me.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Alice, what are you doing? I haven't even said anything yet!" I cry out while backing away.

Alice glares at me. "I don't need to hear you. I've been watching you. I watched you arrive with Komachi. I watched you help kill that oni. I watched you fight against Marisa. I watched you defeat Wriggle. I watched you with Rumia, Byakuren, and Eirin all the way up to here. I know all there is to know about you already. I know that you are my enemy."

_She's been following me? Why? _"What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

She clenches her fist. "I've seen your powers several times, and I now know without a doubt that it's you. You're the one Shinki saw in her nightmares. The man with a black shadow cast over his heart. The man who's going to destroy Gensokyo! It has to be you. I won't let you get away with this!"

_She knows? Arcane, what's going on?_

**It is as I feared. This energy is too similar to those who sealed me away long ago. The ghosts of long dead priests. She has contracted these old phantoms to stop me. I do not know how this 'Shinki' knows of me, or where this girl learned where to find these spirits, but this girl before us is a serious threat. Prepare yourself.**

I don't know how to respond. It is exactly what I feared would happen. Someone is smart enough to figure me out, and they turn on me instantly. I know I should just defend myself, but at the same time I know she is right.

_No… I have to make her understand! _"Alice please wait! I'm not like that. I'm still in control of me. I can still stop this. You can't kill me yet. Please, don't do this to me!"

She shakes her head. "I don't hate you, but I can't let you take that risk either. Gensokyo is my home. I love this place more than anything else. I can't let it be destroyed… I won't! I'm sorry, Knight. I know you never really understood what's going on here, or why you had to get involved, but this is the end."

_Damn it! No!_

Discussion has failed. I've been found out, and now she intends to use a mysterious power specifically against me. Alice has taken it upon herself to stop Arcane and me with him. She intends to slay me like an evil monster.

Alice draws out a spell card and points it at me with it.

"Knight, for the sake of all of Gensokyo… I will destroy you."

* * *

Thank you for reading my latest chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.

Eirin is such an odd character to me, sort of like Remilia. I wasn't exactly sure how to interpret a character who's biggest trait is how mysterious she is, so I just went with the popular 'unrepentant medical researcher' fanon, and just cranked her evil dials up a few ticks. I'm afraid that's going to sound lazy, but Eirin's importance in this story is going to be low, so I'm ok taking it easy.

And I finally got to Alice. I hope I introduced her right here. I'm going to save my note on all of this for next time, so until then.

Thank you again for reading. The next chapter will be ready soon.


	21. Alice's Resolve

_No… no no no… I don't want to do this._

I look downward and think to myself.

_I can't deny her words. This shadow inside me. These dark powers. I try not to think about them, but they're evil. A terrible evil is inside me…_

I clench my fist tightly, and feel the dark magic rush through my hands.

_But she's wrong about this. I'm still in control. I can still stop this! If I lose, Arcane goes free, and he'll just come back with another servant. I can't just die. I could very well be the only one who can stop him for good. If she won't understand, then I'll have to go on without her!_

I summon Deceiver and take aim at Alice. "You're making a mistake Alice. Kill me, and this thing is just going to come back. I can still stop this. I can seal him again."

Alice lowers her spell card a little and gives me a curious look. "Seal? Knight, you aren't a priest, you're a puppet. A puppet can't kill its own puppeteer. It doesn't matter how strong you are, you'll never get free. If you want to stop this, then give up."

_Give up? I wish it was that easy. Just give up and die. But I've come so far now. I can't! _"No. You're wrong Alice. I can stop this. I can, and I will. If you aren't going to help me, then get out of my way."

She closes her eyes and sighs. "I see how it is. I was hoping that some part of you was still alive in there; that part of you might still agree with me. It seems you really are just a puppet now, nothing more than a sad shell of a man. I take no pleasure in this, but for everyone's sake, I'll put you out of your misery."

**Her confidence is not unfounded servant. With this many spirits and this much fury, there is no telling what she will do to you.**

_She can try to do anything she wants. I won't lose to her._

I let of a few shots at Alice. The shots fly straight toward her, but are deflected before they can hit. Shanghai's quick block successfully catches the bullets. Her shield makes a flat clang as the bullets spark and ricochet off.

I lower my aim to see what happened. Shanghai's shield isn't even damaged.

Alice pets her doll for a second. "Thank you Shanghai. Now then, I need to deal with your abilities first."

She pushes her doll aside and points at me while muttering some unintelligible words. Before I can react, I am overwhelmed.

The dark aura around Alice flies at me like a spear and consumes me. The forest's shadows grab at my clothes and pull me down to my knees. I can hear the screams of angry ghosts echo through my skull. Any remaining power Byakuren had given me is washed away by their wicked presence, followed by a sickening slump as all of my excess energy is drained away.

"Guh… ah… r-rrr…" I manage to stand up as the shadows lessen and return to Alice, drifting around her like a gentle mist.

**Necromancy. You have been hexed. Accursed magician!**

I can barely hear Arcane. The terrible screaming from Alice's attack continues to shake me to my very core. I'm seeing doubles, and my hands are shaking like crazy. Ghostly whispers distract my hearing and confuse my movements. I'm distraught all over.

"C-can't stand facing me fair can you? Damn you… ugh, my head." I clutch my head as the curse rips my mind to pieces.

Alice lets out a heavy sigh. "Of course I can't; no one can. When me and Shinki started discussing what to do, we both knew that magic alone wouldn't be enough. I've seen how you can bend reality, summon weapons, and turn spell cards aside like they were toys. They may hate me for resorting to forbidden magic… but to stop a monster, sometime you have to become one."

She raises her spell card into the air. "Now that I've reduced your power, I can finish you off. Goodbye. Puppeteer Sign: Maiden's Bunraku!"

The shadow around Alice parts as multiple lasers fly out and pierce the surrounding landscape.

I try stumbling away from the lasers, but one of them torches my chest, carving out a small chunk of flesh and blood.

I clutch the wound as pain travels through my entire chest. _Damn… my head… I can't fight back like this._

**You must try. You must not die here. I will not fall back into the hands of these pitiful shades.**

I try aiming the pistol at Alice, but I can barely hold onto it. My shots fly everywhere. She doesn't even have to dodge.

_No good. I can't! My head is all backwards. There are too many Alices floating around. I can't tell which is which. There are too few places to hide on this road. Alice set this up good. I don't know if I can win!_

Another barrage of lasers accompanied by fluttering danmaku flies out. The lasers graze me as I drunkenly dive through them, but the bullets are too difficult for me. I take several danmaku shots all over my torso, each one leaving a painful burn.

I grind my teeth and resist the injuries. I send away Deceiver and summon my katana, Fiend.

Alice does not back away from my charging assault. Instead, she reaches with both arms and gently pushes her dolls forward. The two dolls, Shanghai and Hourai, float down to meet me in melee.

I swing at Shanghai, but her shield responds to my attack. Sparks fly up as my razor sharp blade scrapes her armor.

A metallic whirl then prompts me to step back right as Hourai drives her lance right at my leg. Her attempt to pin my leg fails and leaves her spear stuck in the ground.

_Gotcha now._

I take a few steps back and unleash a spell "Explosive Anomaly!"

The dark magic begins to gather around me, but something stops it. A shadow rises up and claws at my hands, chasing away the energy. The shadow fades, and so does the spell.

"Your evil magic won't work against me. These spirits protect me from you." Alice declares in the distance.

**What? She has negated your powers? Blasphemy! Unforgivable! I will not stand for this! Destroy this girl now!**

Hourai frees her lance and rushes at me with it. Being too confused to dodge properly, I trip and stumble sideways. Hourai swings her pole like a club, hitting me from sideways to backwards.

"Gyah!" I weakly stumble away from the shock. I can feel blood forming on my face where her spiked lance hit.

I spin back around, still dazed. The dolls have gone back to Alice's side, and Alice herself unleashes another barrage of lasers and bullets that force me back into the defensive.

_Grr! Damn it! I can't fight like this! I have to get closer. I need to get those dolls out of the way so I can get close enough to see Alice._

I dash forward into the lasers and bullets, ducking under the lasers and blocking danmaku with my sword. My movements are wild, and I make several mistakes. I sustain more light injuries before successfully breaking through.

Alice responds with the same trick. As I get closer, she sends her two guardian dolls forward. They aren't my target this time though. I intend to slip past them and catch Alice defenseless.

The dolls both charge forward with their weapons. I wait until right before they strike and throw myself to the ground, diving forward underneath them. The dolls miss and pass over me, allowing me a clear shot of Alice. My aim is shaky, but I can focus on her enough at this range.

I summon my pistol and let loose some shots. The bullets crack against her magical barrier, and she flinches in pain as each shot hits.

"Ah, ow! Shan-ah! Shanghai, Hourai!" Alice calls back to her dolls for their protection.

The dolls fly right over me and go back to their master's aid, turning their backs to me for a second as they retreat to her her.

_Wait. Now's my chance! I'll get you now you stupid dolls!_

From my spot on the ground, I can see beneath their lowered shields, and I have a clear shot at their bodies. I pick Hourai as my target; I quickly reload and aim at the doll's legs.

Hourai convulses as fiery bullets tear into her tiny legs. She spins back around to face me, but goes limp and falls halfway through. The doll spirals into the ground and erupts into flames. Her weapons also begin to burn along with her.

Alice gasps. "Oh no! My Hourai doll!"

Both her and Shanghai watch helplessly as the destroyed doll burns away, leaving no trace behind.

_It burned? What does she make those dolls out of?_

**She is distracted! Now is your chance. Retaliate and break this curse.**

_Huh? Oh. Your right! Here I come Alice!_

I slowly pull myself up and take aim at the vulnerable Alice. With each shot that lands at her, my vision clears. The hex fades away, and her spell card breaks. The magic in the air vanishes in a bright flash. Her aura of souls becomes nothing more than an accessory now that I've regained control.

_Whew. Much better._

I quickly reload and target Alice again, but Shanghai intervenes this time. I hold fire as she raises her shield to protect her master. With her shield raised, Shanghai is completely hidden, and a majority of Alice's thin frame is gone.

_Shit! That doll is in the way again. I'll need to get past her again._

Alice glares at me from behind her doll's guard. "You're a lot stronger than I thought. It seems an illusion won't stop you even. But I've had months in advance to prepare for you thanks to Shinki's vision. I have plenty more to go yet!"

She points at me again, muttering a curse in an alien tongue.

I brace myself for the impact. _Here it comes again…_

This time, the shadows cling to my weapon. I frantically shake it around to try and get them off, but it doesn't work. After a few seconds, the shadows part. Deceiver is left rusty and dirty. The sight is deactivated, and the trigger is jammed. I try ejecting the magazine, but a flat click is all I get as the mechanisms choke and lock up. My weapon is useless.

"What did you do?" I ask in frustration.

"You take from me. I take from you. That one is for Hourai." She coldly replies.

I send it away and summon a different weapon. Shredder and Chaos are the same way. Nightmare's edge is blunted and useless as well. All my weapons are wasting away.

_I can't fight without a weapon! I may really lose this time!_

**You forgot one you fool. The sword I gave you is made from my own flesh. It will not bow to some petty curse. Use it.**

I try summoning it, and the blade appears as shiny as always. It seems this is all I have left for now.

Alice gasps when she sees my blade unchanged.

"I still got one last hold out. Looks like you messed up this time." I say to her while I twirl the blade in my hands.

She regains her cool and draws her next spell card. "One sword isn't going to be enough against an army. I'll stop you yet. White Sign: Chalk-White Russian Dolls!"

There are several flashes of light as more dolls appear around Alice. The dolls are dressed in white and wear puffy berets. They appear unarmed, but I'm not about to be fooled either.

The Russia dolls then vanish all at once, fading away like ghosts.

_Did they leave? What's going on?_ I quickly look around for some kind of ambush.

It doesn't take me long to find one. One of the dolls fades back in at my side and unleashes a burst of danmaku. I easily avoid the scattershot of danmaku, but that's not the last one. More dolls fade in around me and threaten me with their magic. Without any ranged attacks, they are all out of reach, and I'm forced into a frantic defense.

**These are just puppets. Fighting them will not aid you. Turn your attention to the girl.**

_R-right. Here we go… run run RUN!_

I duck down and make a mad dash towards the Alice. The Russia dolls continue to appear around me and haze me with their attacks.

I reach Alice, and so do the dolls. They materialize alongside Shanghai, and they form a defensive wall in front of their master.

"Haaaa!" My sword cackles with concentrated energy as I throw myself at them.

Three of the Russia dolls line up in front of Shanghai and start to fire Danmaku. A few shots fly at me, but I reach them before they can really attack. My concentrated slash splits all three in half, and clears the way between me and Shanghai. The guardian doll meets me with a straight thrust of her sword.

I barely manage to twist my neck away at the last second. Her blade grazes my shoulder, leaving a clean tear in my jacket shoulder. But I don't let it phase me. Shanghai's lowered guard paves the way right towards my target.

Shanghai raises her shield, which is exactly what I expected. I dive right into her, slamming her with the hilt of my sword and tackling her into the ground. Shanghai falls down, giving me a clear view of Alice.

"Ah! Dolls, to me!" Alice's composure fades as she calls to her defenders at the last moment. All too late.

I quickly hop over Shanghai and strike Alice with my sword. I work on cutting down her barrier with fluid strikes.

It doesn't take long for Shanghai to recover though. She quickly zooms back up and brings her sword down back over me.

**Servant, behind you.**

"Whoa!" I dive out of the way, letting Shanghai's attack continue downward. Right into Alice.

The sound of her spell card being destroyed silences the forest, making Alice's agonized cry the only sound to be heard.

There is the sound of flesh being cut as the doll accidentally slices right down the middle of her own master. The doll instantly stops, but not before cutting a narrow gash right between her breasts.

"U… ugh… S-S-Shanghai… how could you be so careless?" Alice shudders as she pulls her own doll's blade out of her wound. The doll just does nothing. The wide-eyed expression on it indicates it too is shocked.

At first, I'm a bit horrified. But then, I blink in confusion. _Wait a second… how come she got hurt? I though her magic was still protecting her?_

**Magic acts like armor against hostile forces, but not against one's own power. A careless fool can still kill themselves with their own attacks.**

I suddenly feel a slight sense of irony. "See Alice? A puppet can defeat its own puppeteer. You just have to know how to deceive each other."

Alice finishes removing the blade and turns to me. Her voice is still as cold and accusing as before. "You're an idiot Knight. You can't stop this. The only way to stop this is for you to die. This is the only way."

I grimace as I listen to her harsh words. Alice is completely convinced herself that my death is the only resolution. I can't reason with her.

_Come on! Listen to me for just a second at least.  
_

Alice winces as her wound bleeds a little more, but she maintains her composure. Her wound appears to be pretty bad though…

She isn't too far away from me; just a few steps or one quick lunge away. Shanghai has once again taken to her defense, and she continues to hold her place in front of Alice in spite of the grievous mistake she just made. She stays ready with her shield and protects her master.

Alice takes a deep breath and tries to chant a new curse, but in the middle of a word, she lurches forward and coughs up a bit of blood.

Alice wipes the blood off her lips and looks at her now red sleeves.

"Nnngh. I shouldn't be fading like this… is it already taking a toll on me?"

I try talking Alice down again. "Alice, stop this. I understand your trying to do what you think is right, but please, give me a chance. I can fix this. I know I can."

Alice stops for a moment and thinks. "You truly believe you can stop this don't you?"

"I do."

"Then you know how I feel. This is my home. This is a wonderful world of magic. It's a place free of war and darkness. A darkness that you threaten to bring here. I can't risk it Knight. I know it's not your fault, but you can't go any further." My remaining hope of stopping Alice dies with her final words.

I growl in frustration. "Alice, listen to me! I am not the bad guy! You are making a mistake here!"

She goes back to her battle stance. "I can't trust you. Sorry, but you're still my enemy."

_Damn it! Why won't she stop?_

**Negotiation is worthless now. Look at her. She is losing control of her powers. She will disintegrate if she keeps going. Either she will kill herself against you, or retreat. Either way, this fight is yours. Be patient a moment longer.**

I peer over Shanghai and look at Alice's wound again. Arcane is right, she is falling apart. What was a little gash is now grown into a wide laceration. Her wound is worsening.

Alice coughs on blood again as she tries resuming her magic. "Guh… ack! N… no… why? I thought I could handle it. Why is this happening?"

**Magic is natural, but power corrupts. The wicked power of necromancy is killing her. Foolish.  
**

Alice tries to curse me once more, but gives up when more blood stops her.

She lowers her hands from her mouth and shoots a hard glare at me. "I can't keep this up anymore. Looks like you get an easy victory today. I think I sorely underestimated your abilities."

_It looks like she's backing down… but do I just let her walk? If she's going to come back, shouldn't I try to finish her off? I still have so many questions though.  
_

Alice continues. "I don't intend to die yet, so I'm going to go now. Don't think I'm going to give up on you though. Even if no one believes me, I'll never stop until I know Gensokyo is safe again."

_This is one determined girl. Why does this have to happen to me?_

Alice floats backwards and starts putting distance between us.

"Wait. Alice! Please! I have so many questions! What is Arcane? Who is Shinki? Why is this happening to me? Please, tell me something at least." I call out to her while following after her.

She does not answer my questions. "Arcane? So that's what it's calling itself. I'll remember that name from now on. Now, it's time for me to leave you with a parting gift."

She holds her hands in front of her, and another blue light appears as a new doll is summoned. The light grows brighter than the others. Brighter and brighter, until I am forced to shield my eyes.

When the lights fade I look to see what Alice summoned. What I see shocks me beyond all reason.

It's a giant doll. A huge one that's at least as tall as a house. It has the same look as Shanghai: blonde hair tied back with a red bow. Her dress is light blue, and armor plates are woven into the chest and skirt, along with armor greaves and gauntlets. It is intimidating, beautiful, and impressive all at once.

Alice looks up at her creation. "My goliath doll. My most powerful creation. It used to be a lot larger, but a catastrophic malfunction during a test run almost completely destroyed it. I've learned since then. A three story tall doll is a bit out of the question, this is much more workable."

_It's still a one story tall weaponized doll! Man, this girl loves her dolls. _

She floats up and gently pets the goliath doll over the head. The doll's giant eyes close as it relaxes. "Dolls are alive you know. They feel, and think like humans do. They have emotions and dreams too. Of course, they can't act on their own because they are dolls. But with my magic, they are alive. My dolls are all loyal to me. So, should I tell this one to destroy you at all costs, it will do so with every fiber of its being, until I tell it otherwise."

Alice's look saddens a little as she talks to her giant doll. "I know I will be sending you to your grave against this man. But I need you to try your best for me. I'm counting on you. "

The goliath doll opens its eyes and gives a firm nod. Alice turns away and heads down the path, back towards the human village.

**Don't let her escape!**

I call out and head after her. "Alice! Alice wait!"

The Goliath takes a mighty step between me and her. The doll flicks her wrists and materializes a pair of giant sized longswords. Each blade from hilt to tip is half as tall as her. With her standing tall, sword at each side, she takes up the entire width of the road.

Unable to pass her, I have no choice but to watch Alice drift away into the distance and vanish. The summoned phantoms retreat with her, leaving me alone with Alice's massive doll.

**Hmph. Troublesome pest. She will certainly return later, no doubt stronger than before.**

_She's gone now… I tried and tried, but she just wouldn't listen._

I have a lot of questions. None of which got answered. All I know is that Alice Margatroid is now my sworn enemy.

_Questions questions and more questions… Gah! To hell with this. I don't know what to make of all of this anymore. All I know is that I'm still on errands for a magician in the Scarlet Devil Mansion. I have to get this medicine back to Patchouli!_

I materialize Shredder and aim the machine pistol at the armored behemoth.

_Alright. Let's get out of this forest. Out of my you oversized doll!_

The doll begins to slowly advance on me. I hold my ground, and let loose the first stream of shots into the goliath doll.

* * *

A/N

Thank you for reading my latest chapter. I hope you enjoyed this one. I certainly had a hard time writing it.

Alice is currently Knight's physical antagonist, as opposed to Arcane who is a more subtle one. Alice is often depicted in anti-social roles, be it tsundere, yandere, or just a quiet cool-headed shut-in. More interesting to me though, is when she shown to have a strong or hidden emotional side. i find it entertaining when Alice's cool composure breaks down, and is shown to have heart, or at least some kind of realistic emotion. Going with that, I think that the fact that the vision of Arcane would be enough to send her into a rage emphasizes Knight's situation; something he's been avoiding.

The Alice I wrote here tries to go with the typical strong attitude, but also has an emotional side that isn't just there, but that easily overtakes her. In the end she tries to be cool and calm, but is really reckless and emotional; like when she was about to be hit, or when Hourai was beaten. Alice's emotional resolve is meant to be a match to Knight's logical resolve, and her sacrifice and desperation helps meet that somewhat. Knight, who is still trying to make sense of things, tries reaching out to that similar other that he sees in Alice, which is what causes him to hesitate so much, and what makes Alice such a difficult opponent for him.

Anyways. On to the next one. Goliath doll is up next!

Thank you again. The next chapter will be ready soon.


	22. Guardian's Roar

_Damn… Nothing!_

**It seems she was not lying about this being her greatest creation.**

I reload my machine pistol for the fourth time. I spend more energy as I summon another stick of fiery ammo for the gun.

The giant doll in front of me still stands tall in spite of all the damage. I've tried firing at her again and again, but gunfire appears to be useless. I've tried targeting the head, but it's as hard as stone. The bullets only chip away at the giants face.

Other than that, the eyes are metal, the dress absorbs the shot's penetrating power, and the armor on her chest and limbs completely deflect the bullets.

"Go down already!" I shout while letting loose another volley of sweeping bullets. The shots chip and ricochet off the goliath doll's face, but she sustains no serious damage. The doll's massive eyes are narrowed to an angered glare, and she continues to march on me in spite of the attack.

The doll tries to attack me with a quick rush that betrays her great size. Moving as fast as any human, the doll steps forward and raises her two swords high over her head before bringing them down in a massive 'X' cut.

I throw myself backwards to clear the attack. The blades miss and shred the ground like paper, sending up a plume of brick road, forest dirt, and flood water.

_Ugh… this isn't working. Time I break out Chaos. I hope this works._

I send away Deceiver and summon up Chaos. It takes a lot more energy to reload the flamethrower, but since Alice prevented me from using my spells against her, I have plenty of energy to spare for ammunition.

She may be gone, but I wouldn't even think of using my little spells against this giant though. I hope the power of this will be enough to weaken the armor.

The ammo hatch slams shut. I raise the long barreled weapon at the doll as she begins her approach again.

I pull on the trigger. "Eat this."

Blue fire flies out in a narrow cone towards the goliath doll. The doll raises her swords over her eyes in a block, but I continue anyways. I scorch her dress, armor, swords, and face thoroughly.

I soon spend all of the ammunition. The weapon slowly dies, and the flames dissipate. As the fires fade away, the doll lowers her gigantic swords and readies another advance without missing a beat.

Her dress smokes a little, and her face has a black scorch mark where the flames nicked her chin, but other than that…

_Nothing… Shit, this thing is tough!_

The doll raises another double slash at me. I try backing away, but my heavier weapon slows me down a little. I only barely step out of the way in time. The blade cuts just inches in front of me, sending a burst of debris right into my face and knocking me down.

I pull myself up before the doll can make another attack. The pain from my earlier wounds is starting to sink in. Moving is getting more difficult.

_Mmph… that one hurt._

I look up at my attacker. The giant doll continues to march on me, pushing me backwards down the road.

_This… this isn't working. I can't get through. Her armor is too tough. Damn it, what is she made out of?_

**A difficult obstacle, it seems.**

With another wide step, the giant closes in for a surprisingly long reaching attack. In a panic, I throw myself straight down. I can feel the blades fly over me from my flat position on the ground.

Once safe, I quickly get back up and retreat from the giant doll.

_That was way too close… this thing is faster than it looks!_

I begin to the process of reloading Chaos. As I do, the doll raises her swords in another destructive slash.

Then… fire.

Like a wayward meteor, a huge ball of flames zooms in from the side and strikes the goliath doll over the side of the head, leaving a wide black mark. The doll staggers sideways, catching herself by thrusting a sword into the ground.

It all happens so suddenly, that I don't even react.

At least until the fireball heads my way. After being stopped by the doll's hard shell, the flames bounce off and fly towards me like a mortar. I raise an arm for the inevitable impact, but it lands next to me instead, almost right at my side.

The ball of fire lands and disappears in a final burst of fire. I feel an intense heat wash over me as the flames rise up, and vanish into the air. A silver haired girl now stands where the flames were.

_No way. That was a person? Just who is that?_

The girl now next to me is a serious faced teenage girl. She has a rugged shirt and suspendered overalls, worn out and faintly burned. Her long silver hair is tied up and decorated with paper tokens, and her pants are completely covered with them. The smoking embers at her heels and fingertips indicate that she really was the fireball that just interrupted my attacker.

The new girl glares at me with her fiery red eyes. "You. What are you doing here and what is this thing?"

I'm caught between battle mindset, surprised, and intimidated. "What? I… uh…"

"This battle is tearing up the road, and the fighting can be heard all the way to the human woodcutting grounds. The human workers are afraid to go to work because they think a war is going on over here. If this isn't important, it needs to stop." The girl forcefully demands.

I'm a bit surprised at the girl's demand. "What? Whoa, hey now. This isn't my fault. This-"

The doll finally regains balance and lifts her sword out of the ground, cutting me off with the sound of it. The goliath doll completely disregards the newcomer and continues to focus on me.

**You don't have time to explain yourself.**

_I know that. Um…_

"This thing is after me. I'm trying to stop it… or, her, but I can't get through to her though. I'm stuck on the defensive here." I summarize.

Without acknowledging my statement, she turns towards the advancing giant, raising one of her palms out to unleash danmaku. "Fine. I'll help you beat it. This thing is too dangerous to be on the roads."

_Really? _"Who are you? Why are you going to help me?"

"Look out."

The girl grabs me and throws me down the road. I sail through the air and land with a hard thud against the stone.

"Oof! What the hell?"

The silver haired girl flies backward just as the goliath doll's double slash tears apart the road where we were at.

The girl then stops next to me and picks me back up to my feet. "Mokou. I watch after the humans. Now, tell me what this thing is so I can kill it."

_Mokou... Not very talkative are you?_

**You are not here to talk. Hurry and put this girl to work so we can get on with this. Or have you forgotten that it is already mid day?**

I look up. _Shit, your right! I spent too long with Alice. I need to get back before the day ends!_

I look over at the advancing enemy. Thanks to Mokou's throw, I've got just a few more seconds to explain.

"She's a doll… or something. She's tough all over, but the head is the weakest. I don't have enough power to get through, but I've scratched her up pretty good." I explain.

Her hands become completely engulfed in flame. "Let's just see how well it holds up to this. Get ready, here it comes again."

The doll reaches the two of us again. Before she can move to attack, Mokou unleashes a burst of danmaku. Several balls of condensed fire, not unlike my summoned ammunition, zoom out and explode against the face of the doll.

I waste no time either. I finish reloading Chaos and take a step forward. I send a cone of blue flames to join Mokou's real ones.

The heat is overwhelming. Flame from my gun and Mokou's fire danmaku overpower and burn the doll. The air begins to waver and distort as the temperature rises.

Yet in spite of all of this, the doll does not yield. She squints and continues toward us.

Sensing another attack soon, I lower my aim and run back. I pass Mokou, who does not retreat.

_What is she doing? She's going to get hit! _I wonder while I watch Mokou wait for the approaching giant.

The doll quickly swipes her swords in a rapid 'X' cut. Mokou rises up into flight over the blades, becoming a raging fireball as she does. Mokou zooms into the doll right as it swings, crashing into it like and exploding like a human missile.

The doll steps back, but is still undamaged. Mokou bounces off and flies back towards me. The flames clear and Mokou reappears.

"Nice hit." I compliment her.

She sees the doll still undamaged by her attack. "Tch. You weren't lying about tough. That thing is already heading this way again."

_Damn. Even with this badass with me we still can't hurt her._

**It is not invincible. Keep attacking it.**

"This thing isn't unstoppable. Just keep hitting it. All that surface damage is going to add up eventually." Mokou mimics Arcane's words.

The doll gets close to us again. Mokou and I respond with fire, trying our best to damage the creature as much as possible.

_Come on… she has to be getting weaker._

**You are tiring servant, and your wounds weigh on you. You had best make a decisive blow now.**

Arcane was right. Using the flamethrower a third time had taken up quite a bit of my mental energy. The wound in my chest is terribly painful, and I have debilitating cuts all over from the debris.

Then, without warning, another attack comes. The doll charges right through the storm of fire and lunges at us. Mokou easily glides backwards, but I almost don't make it. The debris from the nearby strike scratch and cut me.

I back away and take a few deep breaths while the doll picks her swords back up out of the road.

Mokou looks away from her opponent and quickly glances at me. "Are you ok over there? You don't look good."

"I'm… I'm fine. Give me just a sec." I say while reaching for my healing potion.

She nods and steps directly in front of the doll. With a powerful yell she unleashes flames from both hands. The danmaku flies so fast it looks like a solid ray of fire.

I quickly unscrew the lid to the crystal flask and drink a few drops of the potion. My wounds regenerate a little, and the pain lessens.

_That should be good. There are still about three-fourths left. Let's not waste it._

I look up at the goliath doll as it tries to march through Mokou's onslaught. The face is heavily scratched, and the dress has a few scuffs and burns.

_It's got to be getting brittle now. An Explosive Anomaly might shatter it… but I need to be absolutely sure it's as weak as possible, or I'll waste it. Maybe Mokou has a spell card that will help._

"Mokou!" I call out.

"Yeah?" She replies over her roaring flames.

I explain my plan to her. "I think I can crack her open, but I need her to be as weak as possible. If you have any spell cards that might help, I need you to use it and bring her down as much as you can."

The doll swings at Mokou, who flips out of the way. Both of us put some distance between the doll, allowing my ally to draw a spell card out.

"Alright, I'm counting on you then. You better not be telling me to waste a spell card here."

I notice then that Mokou's hands are completely red! She's burning herself.

I stop her before she begins. "Mokou? What's wrong with your hands? Are you ok?"

She just shrugs it off. "It's nothing. I do this all the time. Now stand back. This one gets hot."

She raises her card, and the temperature begins to increase dramatically. "Immortal: Firebird, Flying Phoenix!"

In a sudden flash of fire, two large wings of red fire appear on Mokou. She rises into the air and flaps her wings at the doll. Each beat of her wings unleashes a burst of fire danmaku. Using her hands, she conjures the fire into a bird-like creature that sails into the giant with a screech before exploding. Her vaporizing blasts and explosive firebirds force the giant doll into a block.

I gaze in awe at the display of pure destruction. Even the road is beginning to crack under the heat.

_Just who is that?_

**The flames are harming her. Yet, she disregards her own health. Human… yet so much death surrounds her. This must be the legendary Mokou of Fujiwara. The traitorous human who stole the forbidden elixir of immortality many years ago. Yes… this is the power of the Hourai elixir I sense. It is her. I did not expect to see such a person here… hmm…**

_What's all that supposed to mean?_

**Nothing important. Be thankful that such a powerful woman is at your side.**

_Then let's not let her down._ I think while I look away from Mokou's inferno and towards her target.

The flames scald the giant doll. But to her, it is only hot air. Alice's charge drives her onward. She has only one thing in mind, and that is killing me no matter what. She won't stop, even if every hardened fabric of her being is burned to a crisp.

Unfortunately for us, she is still resisting the flames. She is slowly advancing through the onslaught, step by step. Mokou's movements appear to be quite limited, as she only barely retreats from the approaching attacker.

"Yo. If you got something in mind, you'd better do it soon. I can't get out of the way like this." Mokou shouts over her own attack.

_Ok… just need to wait till the last second here. I only got enough energy for one of these things._

"You listening? You better not leave me up here!"

I wait until the Goliath doll is within slashing reach of Mokou.

_Three. Two. One…_

"Explosive Anomaly!"

I hurl the marble sized bomb towards the doll. One of Mokou's fire danmaku catches it and carries it straight into the doll's head; right under her left eye.

There is an ear splitting crack. The right side of the doll's face gives in, leaving a wide crack from under the eye to the top of the mouth.

_Bingo! _"Yeah! That did the trick. Aim at the crack Mokou, try and get underneath her skin."

Mokou hurl's a firebird attack right at the weak spot. The weakened skin gives under the powerful blast. The entire lower right side, shatters like a ceramic vase. Beneath her ball head is a metallic bone-like structure. As Mokou's fire seeps into the exposed endoskeleton, it slowly begins to hiss and spark.

_Yes! Fin- whoa wait…_

"Mokou! Mokou, look out!" I call out to her.

The goliath doll is still unfazed by her damaged face, and closes in on the slow moving Mokou before she realizes it. A quick swipe with one of her swords strikes my ally and sends her hurtling into the forest. Her spell card breaks as she slams into the watery ground and bounces into a bamboo tree.

"No! Mokou are you ok?"

**She is not down yet. Now look out!**

Following Arcane's warning, I turn towards the goliath who is almost right on top of me. The doll raises her plated foot and kicks me, heel first. Her foot sends me sailing backwards, tumbling over the ground wildly.

I eventually roll to a stop. My entire body is sore and bruised, but I can still move.

_Ouch… ugh… damn… Come on, and up we- ouch… get. There._

I slowly pull myself up and reorient myself. I turn to the goliath doll once again, who is now several yards away. I flew pretty far.

As the doll passes Mokou and heads my way, it quickly rubs the exposed part of her face with the back of her knuckles to quell the flames. She is still standing strong.

_Damn it. I'm getting shown up by a toy…_

**You are almost done. Her resistance weakens. Tear it apart.**

I summon back Shredder and reload it. As I do, Mokou gets back up.

Mokou hurls herself at the goliath's weak spot. Wreathed in a ball of fire, she rockets into the exposed skeleton. She leaves a wide dent before ricocheting off and landing in front of it.

She turns back to me. "You ok back there?" She calls.

I run forward to engage the doll with Mokou. "Yeah, I'm good. Let's put this thing down once in for all."

Mokou turns and unleashes fiery danmaku into the doll. I add my gunfire with her attacks, spraying bullets all over the head whilst running to meet up with her.

The doll begins to slow. As fire crawls into the crack and under the eyes and face, it begins to burn from within. Scratches worsen and cracks begin to develop. The damage my bullets deal is amplified by the burn damage, and each shot tears away fragments of her face.

I run out of shots and begin to reload. "Just a sec Mokou. Keep sending fire into her. Set fire all inside it."

Mokou nods and continues to hurl spears of fire into the hole in the doll. Flames slowly begin to spread down from within. Smoke starts to emit from the doll's eyes. Fire begins to crawl out of her hands and feet. Her dress and hair begin to smolder. She's burning up. The doll trembles in silent agony, but continues her march.

The gun clicks as I finish reloading.

_Time to end you. Goodnight!_

I aim and fire all over the goliath doll. With her armor damaged and burning, her defense is now much lower. Each of the tiny bullets cracks and pierces her face and chest armor. A full magazine leaves her covered in tiny holes and countless fractures.

As pressure from the flames inside her begin to build up inside her, she starts to fall apart. The cracks I dealt to her chest armor split open and fragments of metal explode off. Pieces of her face start to split and fall to the ground.

I don't reload again. Instead, I lower my gun and let Mokou's work finish it off.

The doll drops both her swords as her fingers and hands begin to break off. Flames begin to erupt over her hair and dress; chunks of the tough fabric peel off and fall down. The rest of the face breaks away, and the eyes slip off and fall to the ground with a loud clang. Her now expressionless, fleshless ball of a head begins to erupt and spark like a pile of firecrackers.

Mokou hurls one last shot of fire before stopping. "Hmph. Just a stupid toy after all."

The doll falls to one knee, but immediately slips and falls onto her face when her other leg snaps in half. She makes one last attempt to crawl towards me, dragging herself forward with a handless arm before giving out and falling flat on the ground and succumbing to the fire. She can no longer go on.

The flames flare up at her defeat, completely engulfing the rest of the doll and turning her into a pyre. The flames start to shift from orange to bluish green as they greedily devour the magical remains.

Both me and Mokou stare and watch the rest of the doll is reduced to nothing but a pile of embers. It takes only a minute from the point it fell, to nothing but blue ash.

I take a long sigh of relief. "Whew. Oh man. That was a tough girl. That Alice sure knows how to make these dolls!"

Mokou just gives a grunt. "Alice… what is that idiot thinking by letting a monster like that onto the road. Stupid magician."

I know exactly why, but choose not to volunteer information.

I begin to thank Mokou, but stop short. "Mokou! What happened to your arms? Are you ok?"

Now that her flames have quieted, I can see Mokou did a number to herself. Her sleeves are burned away and her clothes are several shades darker. Her arms are red, blistered, and cracked.

She just shrugs. "Not the worst I've gotten. It happens all the time."

**Yet she feels the pain.**

I immediately pull out the second of Reimu's herbs and open them up. "Here, use this. You need it bad."

"Herbs? I don't need it. You know I'm immortal right? I won't die from this. These burns will just hurt for a day and then they'll start to go down. Just keep your herbs… Hey, are you listening? What are you- hey, you don't have to do that. Hey, you're wasting that on me, you know."

I completely disregard her words. She may be acting tough, but there's no way she I know she has to be feeling that. Just touching them with the salve is burning me because they are so hot.

Against her stubbornness, and perhaps my common sense, I apply the healing substance thick over both her arms. The herbs work instantly. The boils go down, the cracks vanish, and color returns.

When I finish, I throw the empty bag into the doll's pyre and step back.

Mokou folds her arms and glares at me. "What was with that? You wasted it on me you idiot."

_Your one of those 'tough guardian' types, aren't you? _"It wasn't' wasted. How can I just walk away and leave you with those kinds of burns? It's the least I can do."

She lets up, giving up with a sigh. "Fine… Just who are you anyways?"

_Oops. _"Sorry, I'm a new youkai from the outside. My name's Knight. Anyways, just consider it thanks."

She turns away a little. "Outsider? I guess you don't understand immortals then. You didn't have to do that you know. I've died hundreds of times. A little burn is nothing compared to death."

_Death? So if she dies, she just comes back? That must be terrible if she's been getting killed all these years._

**…**

"Again, just take it as thanks. I've got a healing potion on me anyways, and those herbs have been weighing me down for more than a day now. Thanks for saving me from that giant doll." I politely say to her.

"Whatever." She begins to walk away, back down the now war torn road to the human village.

_Not the friendliest girl around… immortality would probably do that to anyone. I wonder how many friends she's seen wither while she lives._

I begin to walk after Mokou. "Hey hold up. I need to get back to the village too. We'll be safer together."

"Then keep up. The sun's going down."

I look up at the sky again. The sun is already past its midpoint and is working its way down.

_Alright, better hurry now. Hopefully, the other youkai will lay off me if Mokou goes with me. At least I won't run into Alice any time soon…_

I look down. _Alice… why are you doing this? Who said I have to die? Alice may not trust me, but I know I can stop this on my own. I can save myself from Arcane's presence. She just won't listen… I guess I'll just have to try my best to stop Alice and deal with this without her._

**Pay attention.**

I look back up. Mokou is getting away.

_Whoops! Better catch her._

I catch up with Mokou, and we leave the remaining ash in the road. Together, me and her trek back towards the village along the broken road.

* * *

A/N

Thank you for reading my latest chapter.

A surprise from Mokou this time. I wanted to fit Mokou into her guardian type roll by having her do something heroic; jumping into the battle unexpectedly to stop the attack. I only occasionally see her in this kind of roll as the bamboo forest's guardian. While I think the Mokou and Kaguya interactions are funny, I just think it's way too overdone, almost to the point of being a meme. I'm hoping this kind of introduction will help establish her roll and personality for later in the story.

Also, that was my first attempt at tying a fight together through two chapters. I wasn't sure how well this would work out. So if you can, leave a review to let me know how well I did.

Thank you again. I hope to get the next chapter ready soon. I'm starting college again soon and I'll be getting back into school mode. I still intend to use my free time to do as much writing as possible, it's just that my studies may reduce how often I upload to once a week or once every other week. Hopefully, it won't stop me from writing regularly, but I probably won't be uploading as fast as I used to.


	23. Finishing the Job

"So you're sure the forest is safe again?" The woodcutter asks again.

Mokou sighs and explains the recent encounter to the human worker again. She reassures him that the threat is gone, and urges him to return to work.

After a third explanation, she finally calms the man down. He turns around and calls over the squad of men and women behind him. Together, they head off to the side and enter the forest through a clearing in the distance.

I wait off to the side next to the sign at the entrance to the Bamboo Forest of the Lost. Me and Mokou haven't talked much since the fight, but we've been traveling together just fine. Mokou caught one of the panicked woodcutters and just finished telling him that everything is back to normal.

Apparently, the bamboo from this forest is especially resilient and good for crafting, and a lot of humans go here. The humans outside the village make easy targets for hungry youkai, so they often worry about their safety.

I feel a little bad for scaring them, but it's thankfully over now.

The workers disappear off to the side, and I walk back up to Mokou. She looks back at me with a confused look.

"Why are you still here? Don't you have somewhere to be?" She asks.

_Here I was thinking that I'd made a new friend…_

**You are not here to make friends, servant. **Arcane chastises.

"Just figured I'd wait for you." I casually reply. "You are going back to the village, right?"

She sighs again. "Yeah… come on then."

Me and her walk back up the village. I could easily sprint off and hurry back to the mansion, which I probably should be doing anyways, but I want to take some time to try and get to know my savior. I may have very well lost against that giant doll without her.

We proceed back up the hill towards the now active village.

I try talking with Mokou. "So… I guess you watch after the humans here."

"Yeah. Me and Keine. Her from within, me from without."

"Who's Keine? Another Immortal?" I ask.

"No. Keine is just an ordinary human." She replies with no further explanation.

_Come on, at least try to carry on the conversation! _"So… why do you two protect the other humans?"

She looks upward a bit towards the approaching village. "Humans are… they're good people here. Not all of them, but most. They live a hard life here in Gensokyo. Youkai frequently attack and devour humans, and other magical creatures are known to be just as cruel to humankind. We all do what we can to keep each other's spirits up. I spend most of my time dealing with troublemaking idiots who try to pick on the humans."

_Interesting… but that conversation kind of hit a dead end. Let's go back. _I think to myself.

"Tell me more about Keine. What's she like?" I ask as we enter the town and head down the street.

"Keine is…" She actually begins to smile a little. "She's one of the best people I've ever met. She's one of the few people who ever showed me kindness in all of my immortal life. I learned to respect humans from her."

_Hmm… She sounds like a good per-_

**Servant, what are you doing? This conversation doesn't serve any purpose. Leave this girl and move on.**

_Hey, shut up. You don't have any right to cut me off like that! Don't forget that you're still my enemy. Alice tried to kill me because of you. As soon as I figure out how, I'm getting rid of you, then all of this will be done._

**Of course… now pay attention before you run into some-**

"Oof!"

"Ah!"

I collide with someone while looking downward and talking with Arcane. I quickly pick myself up and go over to the girl I just bumped into.

She a mature woman wearing a navy blue dress and has blue highlight in her long silver hair. Knocked down in front of her is a box like hat with a red silk ribbon tied onto it.

I quickly pick the hat up and pull her back to her feet. I give the hat back to her, and she places it atop her head. Now that she's composed herself again, she has a very sagely feel to her. She just looks like a kind and understanding person with her calm eyes and quiet expression. I feel a little embarrassed bumping into such a person like that.

"S-sorry…" I sheepishly apologize to her.

She gives a soft smile. "It's quite alright. Please be careful around here, and not bump into any of the humans."

"Right sorry." I apologize again.

"Well, I thought I might introduce you to Keine, since you seemed so interested." Mokou sarcastically says.

_Keine? So she… oh crap._

Keine giggles a little when she sees me start to panic. "It's fine. No need to fret. Just work on your first impressions for next time, hm?"

"Right… sorry about that." I feel silly for being so clumsy in front of Mokou's friend.

"That's good. Now, what is your name?" She asks.

Mokou speaks up for me. "Knight. Some guy from the outside world. He was what was causing all the noise in the forest. He uses something like that lunarian thing I told you about. It's really loud."

_Lunarian? Did she mean… _"I think you're talking about guns. I have a few, although they're just magical conjurations. I gave them that form because that's what they use in the outside world, and it's just what I remember."

_Although… things were never that advanced, and Nightmare is just out there…_

**The appearance of your weapons is from your latent memories of your past life. Your powers take what your mind thinks is most dangerous, and imbues it into the design of your choosing.**

"I see. Very interesting. It must be quite useful." Even when enthusiastic, Keine is quiet and polite.

Mokou continues. "But that's not why I came. You know that puppeteer girl, Alice? She's why Knight was causing all that noise. She put a giant doll in the middle of the new forest road and just left it there! Stupidest thing I've seen. The road got all torn up because of it. You'll need to get a hold of those oni masons again."

"Again? Ohhh…" Keine sighs. "I'd best go do that now. Knowing the oni, it'll probably be a week before they can get sober enough to work on it."

She turns back towards me. "Thank you for your time. Enjoy your stay, and please don't scare the humans."

"Sure. Goodbye Keine."

She turns back around and heads down a side street. Mokou begins to turn away as well.

"Going back out now. Take care of yourself Knight." She begins to walk away.

I stop her for one last thing. "Hey, Mokou, wait. I need to get back to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, but I can't fly. Is there a faster way to get around in Gensokyo?"

"Run fast." She flatly replies.

_Great… _"Ok. Thanks Mokou. Goodbye."

She gives a quick wave goodbye and resumes walking away. It's just me in the city now.

_Well, at least they were nice to me. No time to waste anymore though. I need to get back._

I quickly slip through the crowds and make my way down the street. Most of the people out here now are humans. Most of them either don't acknowledge me, or turn away after seeing me. It's awkward to not be welcomed amongst normal people.

Thankfully, I leave the village soon. I begin to head back up the road leading out of the farm lands. Walking becomes running, and running becomes sprinting. With nothing but open road and a cool early evening sky, I break into a rapid dash and hurry back to the mansion.

I run up the hills and past the farms. I exit the village outskirts and continue straight down the road towards Kourindou and the Forest of Magic. My stamina does not fade, allowing for endless running. I'm starting to see my new body has a few nice advantages for me outside of combat.

As I run, the sun slowly starts to crawl downward. The minutes pass by, and evening begins to set in.

_Running out of time here. I hope Patchouli wasn't serious about that time limit._

I pass Kourindou without even glancing at it and head towards the Forest of Magic. I've encountered no one yet, but time is passing. I need to keep the pace up.

I pass the forest of Magic as the sun starts to set, continue down the road towards the lake. Now that it is not raining, Misty Lake only froths a little around its edges, allowing me to see a narrow dirt path leading around the lake and up to the mansion.

I run along the path for balance, and sprint as fast as I can towards the mansion. The lake and trees whirl past me. I soon approach the gentle hill and near the gates.

I begin to slow myself as I draw close. I almost bump into the gates by the time I finally stop. On the other side, I can see Meiling under the arch. She seems to be staring off as she thinks about something, but she snaps back to attention when I approach.

She responds with the same casual salute. "Hey Knight. Coming back? Let me get the gate for you."

With a wave of her hands, the gates swing towards me. I take a step out of the way before passing through. I quickly thank Meiling and walk down the courtyard and into the mansion.

I close the front doors behind me and take a deep breath. _Finally back. What a day!_

**A day in Gensokyo. One of many to come.**

_Yeah… at least I'm-_

I stop mid thought. I was thinking of 'home', but I'm not sure if this place is really my home yet. These halls may feel friendlier the fourth time going through them, but I know I still don't belong here.

"Are you ok?"

I jump back around. It's Meiling.

"Huh? What are you doing in here?" I ask, confused as to why the guard is inside.

Meiling deadpans. "I live here too you know."

_Err… maybe that came out wrong._

"Anyways, it's dinner time. I'm going to see if Sakuya has anything ready yet. Want to join?" She offers with a smile.

I shake my head. "No. Not hungry, maybe some other time. I need to get to the library, but I, uh, don't know the way yet."

She laughs aloud. "Hehehe. I was the same way when I first got here. Come on, I'll show you the way."

Meiling takes the lead in front of me and guides me down the halls. She makes small talk with about the strange weather and the little things she took care of whilst I was away.

"Oh yeah, something else I wanted to ask." She begins to start another line of conversation.

"Hm? What?"

"Have you seen a youkai named Rumia? A night sparrow named Mystia says she was looking for her, and asked me to ask any passersby if they've seen her. Apparently she went missing this morning."

I feel my heart sink. _Rumia? Missing after she went to Mystia? It can't be coincidence. Did her seal weaken again? I hope I didn't end up doing something bad to her. Oh man… that might be really bad._

"Knight?"

"Sorry. Just spacing out." I quickly reply.

She slows a bit and gives me a funny look. "Space out? You're pretty weird, you know that?"

I sigh. "Yeah… just still trying to… never mind. Anyways, I'm actually the one who told Rumia to go see Mystia. She was a little sick but otherwise fine, so this is news to me."

She resumes her pace. "I see. I'll keep asking then."

Soon we reach the library.

Meiling points to the library doors. "Here it is. Did you remember the way? Just ask if you need more help. Ok, I'm going to go eat. Bye for now."

She turns right at the intersection here and heads back to the depths of the mansion.

I pull out the medicine bottle from my pocket. _Ok… time to finish this up._

I open the doors and step inside. "Patchouli? Patchouli Knowledge? I'm back. I got the Ambrosia Serum."

I call out for her, but no immediate response comes. I walk towards the end of the room where the desk is, but no one is there.

_Where is she?_ I look around all over the library, but there is no one in my immediate sights.

Until…

Up on the second balcony on one of the walls is a different girl. I can't see her very well because she's so far away. She seems to have red hair, so it's not Patchouli.

I walk underneath the balconies and call up to her. "Excuse me. Do you know where Patchouli is?"

My voice travels far in the silent library. The girl responds, and peers over the edge.

"Oh? Who is this? A man?" She says to herself while looking down at me.

She jumps off the balcony and begins to slowly glide downward. I back away to allow her room to land. I can see she has wings… two sets actually.

She has a pair of jet black wings set low on her back, almost on the hips, and a second set on her head right over her ears. I thought the head wings were just hair ornaments, but a faint twitch indicates they are real.

She's dressed in an outfit that reminds me of Rumia. She has a long black skirt and a white shirt. But whereas Rumia wore a long sleeved shirt on top, this girl has a sleeveless vest that is several sizes too small. Tight clothes, shiny hair, glittering makeup, a sly smile, and an all-consuming hypnotic stare. Everything about her says 'seductress'.

Her eyes are like mine. Dark red, and constantly swirling like a vortex. I remember my eyes churn and circle around chaotically like a hurricane, but her eyes are like a tornado that threatens that trap my stare in it's slow… hypnotic… swirls…

**Servant, be careful. That is a devil. A succubus no less.**

_Wha?_

Arcane snaps me back to attention. I realize now that I've been looking this girl all over the whole time like some pervert!

I begin to apologize. "S-sorry. Um… I was just looking for… er…"

I fumble my words. _Damn it. Those eyes keep pulling my mind in. Just who is she?_

She just continues to stare at me; perhaps even more intently than before. It's like she's trying to hypnotize me on purpose.

She smiles a little. "Koakuma is my name. I'm a succubus, as you are now finding out."

Her voice tickles my ears; smooth as milk, sweet as honey. She definitely is a seducer. She's hitting all of my buttons without even trying.

"I… guh… s-sor… uh…"

Koakuma wraps her arms around me and pulls me in closer. I had not even realized that I've been shuffling towards her like a zombie, and was already within grabbing reach.

She presses body against me, smiling like the demon she is. She leans close into my face, blocking my vision with her stare. I try closing my eyes, but her image sinks through my eyelids and into my mind.

She softly whispers to me. "This power you have. Your soul is so strong. I bet you are going to be delicious. Hehehe… my lucky day. Time to eat."

My body won't respond, and my mind is fading. Arcane remains patient.

"Koakuma!"

That was Patchouli's voice. The girl takes a step back when she hears her.

"Master? Don't tell me I can't have him! It's been days since I've had any souls! I'm starving!" The devil indignantly cries.

Koakuma glances away from me, allowing my mind to return to normal. Now awake and panicked by the twisted fantasy I just experienced, I stumble away from her and summon Fiend.

"What the hell was that? Who are you and what did you do to me?" I demand.

"Stop shouting and put that sword away." Patchouli says to me from behind, sounding as agitated and bored as before.

_Urk! She's getting on to me too. _I release my weapon just as Patchouli steps past me.

"Master Knowledge…. Please, please let me eat his soul. I'm soooo hungry." Koakuma whines.

Patchouli crosses her arms. "You cannot. Knight here is Remilia's new favorite guest, and he is a new resident. He is not food. You are allowed the souls of trespassers and that is it; the same rules still apply. If you are hungry, then go to the kitchen and get something to eat."

_Whew. Thank you Patchouli. I thought she was going to eat me!_

Koakuma pouts. "But… but… mortal food tastes so… bland! I want souls! I'm starving. I need to feed. I'm going crazy. I want it so baaaad! Please, let me have some souls!"

Patchouli rubs her forehead and mutters to herself, loud enough for me to hear. "This is becoming a problem… I am going to have to find some way to quell her appetite or she really will go crazy."

She turns away to me and dismisses her servant over her shoulder. "Sorry. No souls tonight. Finish up that pile I gave you and we will talk about it. I have a little business with Knight."

Koakuma resigns with a groan and slowly floats back up to the walkway she came from.

Patchouli motions for me to follow her back to her desk. Once there, she takes her seat.

She clears aside some miscellaneous notes. "Sorry about that. Now, did you get the medicine? Please tell me you succeeded."

Patchouli finishes with a slight cough. I notice she looks thinner and a little paler.

_She wasn't lying. She really is getting sicker without this. Good thing I got it._

I place the bottle on the desk. "Right here. It's done."

She takes the bottle and opens it up. The bottle is fitted with a dropper, so it comes out in drops. Patchouli leans back a little and squirts a pair of drops into her mouth.

Life instantly returns to her, and she shifts back to her original health. She looks just as when I first met her now.

She relaxes and sets the bottle back into her desk. "There. All done. Thank you Knight, you did me a big favor."

_Finally done. Now, let's see if we can make some progress._

**Yes. Progress.**

"Glad I could help. Maybe you can help me with something in return." I begin.

Patchouli nods. "I will most certainly consider it."

_This is going to sound silly. _"I… don't know what I am. I need your expertise to help me figure out what kind of creature I might be."

Patchouli just stares back at me. "What."

I explain my situation to her, avoiding the topic of Arcane and Alice. I explain my powers, where I'm from, and the things I've learned so far. I hope that she can make some kind of sense out of this.

Patchouli listens patiently before answering. "I see. So you cannot remember anything, and you do not know what you are. Well, given what you told me, I cannot draw any conclusions off the top of my head. You most likely are a new type of youkai in Gensokyo."

I sigh. _Nothing. Damn it!_

Patchouli continues, giving me a bit of hope. "If you are willing, since you will be staying here, I can run some tests and do some research to figure out what you are. I have helped discern species of youkai before, so I have plenty to reference. Since my last project failed, I would be more than happy to make you into my next project. Some of the things you told me are very interesting."

_She's starting to sound a bit like Eirin. But, it's the only choice I've got._

I agree. "Ok. Sounds good. I'll do whatever you need, just as long as we identify me first."

Patchouli nods. "Good. We shall start tomorrow at eight. Wake up early."

"I don't sleep." I reply.

She scowls at me. "You know what I meant. Just get here."

_Well I don't! Geez. Someone doesn't take being corrected too well._

**It would seem there is nothing else to do tonight.**

_What do I do then? I don't want to just walk around until eight. It was only seven in the afternoon when I got here. What do I do for thirteen hours?_

I look around for a bit. I notice that one of the things that Patchouli kept on her desk is a large black stone, jagged and faintly clear like obsidian glass.

"What's that?" I ask.

She looks at the stone. She sighs when she looks at it. "This is what I was working on. I read a series of books on the effects of a material that could reflect danmaku. It turns out the actual thing can only blunt danmaku at best, and the formula hardly yields any worthwhile amount. Nothing world changing. This really does me no good. But after all that time I spent researching the formulas to make this, I just don't want to throw it out… Maybe I will turn it into a paperweight."

_It kind of sucks to get so stressed out over something so stupid. Still, I wonder if it really is useless. Maybe I-_

Patchouli clears her throat to grab my attention. "I am fine with you asking, but it's obvious you are just stalling for time because you are afraid to walk the mansion alone. This all must seem so strange for an outsider, so I cannot really blame you for lingering. However, I have a rule. If you are not here for study, and you are not here for business, then you need to leave."

_I guess I really shouldn't force myself onto her. I'll have to get used to this place eventually. _"Sorry. I'll get out."

"If you need something to do, go look for Sakuya. Also, I heard your room is ready. I would recommend you go find it and get familiar with the location. Even if you don't sleep, you will need a place to put your clothes and items. Speaking of clothes, I would also recommend you get yourself cleaned up and to find yourself a new outfit. You look terrible. If you talk to Sakuya, she can help you find a clothier in the human village, or you can go to Kourindou for outsider clothes. If you are still bored, you can always help Meiling watch the grounds." Patchouli quickly finishes offering a list of things to do.

I nod. "Thanks. I think I'll go look for that room first. I'll see you tomorrow."

I begin to head out, but Patchouli stops me.

"Oh, one last thing. About my aide, Koakuma." She sighs. "She is a succubus, a type of devil that craves the souls of men. She uses hypnosis and her charms to lure men towards her before sucking out their soul with a kiss. Because both me and Remilia disapproved of her old habits of attacking men…"

Koakuma shouts in her defense from across the room. "I don't know why you won't let me hunt anymore. Master Scarlet hunts, why can't I?"

"We _were _fine with it until we found out you were eating an average of ten men's souls each night. You were out of control." Patchouli replies.

_T-ten? _"Ah… big eater I guess?"

She sighs. "You have no idea… Anyways, I don't allow her to feed anymore because of that. But, that doesn't stop her hunger for men, and unlike Remilia she does not distinguish between humans and youkai when it comes to food. With you here…"

_Ok, I get it. _"Stay on guard, right?"

She nods. "I may have forbidden her from touching you, but Koakuma is a very willful servant… with a _very _large appetite. It would not be the first time she has disobeyed me."

I can hear Koakuma giggle across the room. I can already feel her eyes on me.

A shiver runs down my spine. "G-got it. I'll be on my way then."

"Thank you. I have much to prepare for tomorrow, and I need peace. Be here on time." Patchouli says from behind.

I head out of the library. Once out, I'm a little confused as for where to go next. Thankfully, a pair of fairy maids are passing by. I call one of them over.

"Excuse me, could you maybe show me where the new room for me is? I'm a little lost." I politely ask, careful to avoid demanding.

One of the fairies nods. She waves to her companion and then begins to show me the way. I silently follow her.

_Here we go… going to my room and getting settled in. Starting a new life as a resident of the Scarlet Devil Mansion… running around and doing odd jobs is easy for me… but do I really belong here? Is Gensokyo really my new home?_

**This is who you are now. Soon, your reason for being here will be made clear. You are my servant, and nothing more.**

I shudder a little. _MY purpose is to get rid of you. I'll figure you out soon enough, just you wait._

He says nothing else. The rest of the walk is quiet until we reach a side hall with a bedroom at the end. The few other side halls here make up the general living area. The doors are marked by their owners. Sakuya, Meiling, and a few of the important fairies I don't know stay here.

My guide shows me to my room and leaves with a casual nod. I walk up the small door and enter the room. My room is simple, a bed, a dresser, a drawer, and a bathroom with a few things in it. I don't need a lot, so this suits me just fine.

_Ok, now that I've found my room. It's time to start getting settled in and figuring this place out. First, let's go find Sakuya and get some help with some of the basics._

I turn back around and head into the mansion's halls on my own. My third day in the strange world of Gensokyo has come to a close, and it's time for me to really begin my new life as a resident here.

_Three down, an eternity to go. Day four… here I come._

* * *

A/N

Thank you for reading my latest chapter. I was hoping to surprise my readers with a next day upload, because my upload frequency will be a bit slower now that I'm in school.

If I was dividing the story into arcs or acts or whatever, I guess this would be the end of the first one. Knight has survived Gensokyo's wild and has found himself a role in it's strange world. Now that he is getting past the 'WTF' stage of arriving in fantasy, he is getting more inquisitive and curious about the oddities of the world he is in. I hope this will be useful in opening up some doors for character backstories and world building later. I hope I wasn't to rushed in bringing the last of Patchouli's request to a close.

I also had a lot of fun writing Koakuma. I've seen a lot of interpretations of her as a succubus or some other impish creature, which I think are all really cool. I think it's really interesting when minor characters like Koa, Daiyousei, and most of the Pc-98 cast get unique personalities and interpretations from the fandom without ever actually having one to begin with. Going with the dark theme of the story, I wanted to catch the monstrous/horrific side of succubus demons by having her as a deprived, soul eating demon who has the potential to be a looming threat to the male protagonist.

Anyways, Thanks again. I'll have the next chapter ready as soon as I can. Be sure to review, and let me know how the story has done so far for this first 'act'.


	24. The Devil in the Details

Eight O'clock…

After talking with Sakuya, and following her to Kourindou for a little while, I'm back here again; just in time.

It turns out Sakuya has a good relation with Rinnosuke, and he was much more lenient to me. Thankfully, Rinnosuke was smart, and sought to acquire more men's clothes for me thinking that I would need them eventually. I'm happy I got to keep my 'outsider' look. I was able to grab some more clothes for the future, but not a replacement for the jacket. I've grown fond of this safari jacket, so I still kept it.

Now cleaned up, wearing new jeans and a dark gray shirt under my ragged jacket, I have returned to the library. I don't know what Patchouli has in mind for me, but I'm ready to get started.

_Here we go._ I push open the doors and enter. I'm immediately taken by surprise.

The shelves on the ground floor are gone, as is the desk. The library is now a large red carpet arena.

I walk towards where the desk used to be. "Wow… Patchouli?"

"Up here." She replies.

I look up a little. Patchouli and a bored Koakuma are on the first walkway on the back wall, right above Patchouli's room door.

I wave. "I'm here. So how do we start this?"

"Straight to the point. Good, then I'll explain quickly."

She raises a book she's holding and opens it. In her other hand she draws out a pen. It's a notebook.

"After thinking about you last night, I think I may have an idea about your existence. To be sure, I have designed a pair of quick test to study how your abilities relate to my theory. If all goes well, then this will be the only time we do this." She states.

_Ok… _"Why the huge space then?"

"Because one of them is going to be a combat test." She says.

_Oh… great._

"Well, I'm assuming the first isn't the combat one." I guess.

She nods. "The first test I have has to do with your body… to start, I want to talk about your eyes."

…

_What?_

Patchouli continues. "I see you are a bit confused. Let me explain, because this is important."

I patiently wait for her.

Patchouli takes a deep breath and begins. "Have you ever heard the saying 'the eyes are the portals to the soul'? It is true, in more ways than you can think. The soul has power, and so do our eyes. The eyes of a person are unique with their particular race, and often have powerful abilities depending on the race of that creature. A few examples… Beast youkai can intimidate or terrify with their fierce stares. A magician's eyes like mine can see magic and auras that are otherwise invisible. The keen eyes of a tengu can see precisely for several hundreds of kilometers. The eyes of a satori can even read minds. Eyes can be used for much more than just seeing."

**She speaks truth.**

_I wonder what kind of eyes I have then._

Patchouli looks over to the now sitting Koakuma. "Your eyes… I think you have a devil's eyes. They are a little different than Koakuma's, but I don't know of any other creature that has swirling eyes like that."

_Devil's eyes? _"Are you saying I'm a demon?"

She shakes her head no. "Devil, and of course not. I would have noticed that on the spot. Yet, I feel as though you have a slight similarity there. Just how similar, we are about to find out. Koa, are you ready?"

Koakuma sits up. "Finally, something fun."

_Uh oh. _"Wait, Patchouli. What are you going to do? Isn't this a bad idea? What about her being a succubus?"

"Part of the reason I chose her for this test." She replies.

_This is not going to end well._

**Stay focused servant.**

Koakuma hops up over the railing and begins to float down towards me. I quickly retreat from her, but she just glides through the air towards me. She stops in front of me, landing with a muffled step of her heels. She grabs me by the shoulder with one hand to stop me from running. Her slender arm has an unnatural strength, and I find myself stuck fast.

She closes her eyes for a second, smiling a little knowing what she is about to do to me. When she opens them, I instantly begin to feel faint.

"Guh! K-Koakuma. S-stop. I… ugh… "

My willpower quickly fades before her hypnotic stare. The swirls of her dark eyes block my worldly senses. Her gaze slowly begins to consume my mind…

Then, she blinks and turns away. Now free again, I stumble back with a pained gasp.

"You were right Master. He does have a devil's eyes. I can feel magic in them." Koakuma says to Patchouli.

"Interesting. I guess I will let you take over this next part then." The magician replies from above.

"Wha… affect? What are you talking about?" I ask while I struggle to regain my balance.

She spins back around to me, smiling wide as she steadies me. "It means you are like me, at least partly. That means I get to have fun teaching you how to use your eyes. And that means I get to spend lots of time with you today."

_Lessons from Koakuma? This is just great._

I look up at her. Her eyes are not as hypnotic right now, although they are eerily attractive. Still, I manage to keep focused while she talks.

"Devils are the supreme hunters in the magical world. Most of the older devils share traits with the dark gods that spawned them, and are extremely powerful; they have no need to use eye spells. But since nearly all of the old devils are dead now, most devils rely on deception like me. Our eyes are important and versatile tools. Did you get that so far? I can explain _all day_ if I have to."

Her sweet, seductive voice makes my head spin a little. She suppresses a giggle and takes a few steps closer. Her tight vest strains against her chest as she starts to breath heavily. I feel uncomfortably warm when she starts to lean on me, hugging me around my back with her wings.

It seems if she's going to be doing anything with me other than eating my soul, she's going to make it as uncomfortable and awkward for me as possible.

Now up close to me, she continues in a whisper.

"Eyes like ours have several special abilities. Our eyes have a magic spell that can allow us to see farther away, see magical auras, and even affect people by looking into them. A succubus like me can seduce. You on the other hand… well I'll just let you experience it yourself."

_Haaa…_

At this close, her voice and looks begin to poison my reasoning. Half seduced, I simply stare at her with an empty mind and nod.

She then turns around and walks away. I wake up, and look around.

"Huh? What? What just happened? Koakuma?"

"Knight, pay attention to Koakuma. This is important." An irritated Patchouli says to me.

_I am! Just… not in the right way. Damn succubus!_

Koakuma is some distance away from me now. "Ok. First, activating your powers in your eyes usually requires closing them to shut out the world. Close your eyes now. I promise I won't do anything… this time."

I follow instructions and shut my eyes.

_Ok… now what?_

**The eyes of a devil. You were not meant to learn how to use them fully. This serves no purpose. I will help you speed this along, so that I may be done with this. Now… See!**

Something in my eyes begins to burn horribly as he draws out that last word. I yelp in shock and open eyes.

The world I see is different now. The shadows are darker, the lights are brighter, and the colors are more vibrant.

Koakuma tilts her head. "What are you doing? I haven't told you what to do yet."

"Wait… I think I got this actually. I'm seeing things. Like colors and stuff." I quickly reply.

I look around. Everything seems so colorful, but this doesn't seem to do anything. At least I think that until I look at Patchouli. As I focus on her, she seems to rush towards me. The world blurs, and I can see only her. I can see her in detail is if she was up close. Around her is silver mist. I can see her magic.

"Whoa…"

I look over to Koakuma, who also has a silvery magic aura around her. My vision returns to normal as I look away, but as soon as I focus on something my vision mysteriously zooms in. People I see, and magical things like some of the books on the shelves emit a distinct silver aura for me to see.

_This is kind of cool. Although everything zooming in all the time is kind of annoying to walk around with. How do I stop this?_

I try shutting my eyes and opening them again. Surprisingly, this works. My vision is normal again.

I take a deep breath "Wow. That was something. It's like my eyes were a telescope."

Koakuma is extremely distraught now. "How did you figure that out so fast? That took me years to control! Wait, can you activate it again? Show me it again. I'll bet you can't do it twice."

"Ok then. Hold on, and I'll try again." I calmly reply, confused as to why Koakuma is upset.

I shut my eyes. After only a second or so, my eyes begin to tingle with energy. I open them and, sure enough, my enhanced vision is back. I blink it away, and everything returns to normal.

"There. Just like that. Looks like I'm a quick learner… Koakuma?"

She growls in frustration and storms over to me. Whatever I did seems to have set her off.

I don't even try resisting. I've already decided there's no resisting a succubus. I'm just worried what an angry succubus will do to her victims.

She approaches me and seizes me with both her arms, holding me in place. "You really are annoying, showing off like that. You weren't supposed to learn that fast. You're taking the fun out of my work you know… So then 'fast learner'. How do you use your eyes to influence people? The power to persuade people is one of the important aspects of a devil's eyes. How about you try it on me?"

She begins her seductive hypnosis again. "A 'fast learner' shouldn't have any problem stopping a little succubus like me right? Come on then… show me what you can do… _Knight."_

I struggle against her arms, trying to turn away, but she's already affected me. Her image slowly worms its way into my mind, and begins to devour my willpower. I can't help but gaze into her corrupting stare now.

She smiles her sly smile. "Come on Knight. I won't stop until you stop me. You'll turn into my slave if you don't stop me soon. Come on then… show me your eyes… or I'll control you forever. The souls of the enslaved are always tastier you know. The way they so willingly part with their life is just… ah… I can't wait."

_No no NO!_

I mentally scream with all my might to drive out her image. I gather what's left of my fading willpower and pull away from her and shut my eyes again. The enhanced vision returns to my eyes. Not knowing what else to do, I open my now enhanced eyes and focus on Koakuma up close.

Something happens then. Something I can barely comprehend.

Her vision is no longer hypnotizing me. Instead, I feel like I am staring into her. As I focus on her, I see some kind of life underneath them; some indescribable force. I focus harder on her, narrowing my vision to a hard glare as I try to better see it, but it retreats farther away inside her. The more I try to look at it, the further away it goes.

Then, I notice her face is becoming paler. Because of the way I see contrasting colors like this, I don't notice until her face is almost completely drained. She is no longer angry.

She is scared.

Then, she screams.

"KYAAAAAAA!" Her piercing shriek causes both me and Patchouli to wince in pain.

_Whoa, what the hell? _"Hey, are you alright? What did I just do? Koakuma? Are you ok?"

Koakuma doesn't reply. After her scream, she falls silent. She weakly stumbles away a few steps before collapsing on her knees, looking down and shuddering.

I stand there in silence, unsure of what to do.

Patchouli speaks up. "The persuasive powers of a devil aren't the same between they're species. Vampires like Remilia can charm. Koakuma, a succubus, can seduce. It seems you… whatever you are… can terrify."

Koakuma is still trembling, completely overtaken by an unnatural horror I accidentally inflicted upon her. I feel sick looking at her like this.

_I… don't like this power._

**Too late. I activated the power of your devil's eyes. All you need to do is focus on a sufficiently weak willed target with your empowered sight, and you will tear away their sanity. **

_Ugh… no way._ I silently promise to use that as little as possible.

Koakuma begins to pull herself together. She looks up at me from her kneeling position. She is…

_She's smiling? What is she thinking? Is she scared or overjoyed?_

"Ha… ha… wow… you're good at that. I've never felt so scared in my life… You saw my willpower didn't you? That strange life in the eyes that you can't describe. Did you enjoy it? Isn't that a wonderful feeling? Seeing someone's mental balance boil away under your ire, and then watching them squirm as it dissipates. If there's one thing I like as much as men's souls, its driving them crazy. Isn't it great?" She excitedly asks.

**She enjoyed it? Disgusting creature. A being of pleasure and pain, nothing more. Disgusting.**

I begin to apologize, but Koakuma jumps up towards me and grabs me under the collar. She pulls me in, down to her eye level. She talks quickly and enthusiastically. "I think Patchouli might have been right when she said you weren't food. Maybe when this is over I can show you how to have some _real _fun with magical persuasion. I know of-"

"Koa that is enough. I have enough notes on this for now. I know he has a devil's eyes, but that does not make him a devil like you. I am glad you are finding a friend in Knight, but let us move on for now. Come back up here."

Koakuma looks down and sighs. "Of course Master Knowledge…"

She lets go and looks back at me one last time as she begins to float back to Patchouli "Consider it, hm?"

_Well… at least she didn't eat my soul. But magically torturing random people with some trick I can do with my eyes is NOT something I will be taking part in. I'm only going to use this if it's an enemy. Scaring people into doing what I want is just wrong._

**…**

I rub my forehead, now suffering from a headache. "So… that was just weird."

"It's Gensokyo." Patchouli replies. "Now, for the second part of this, I want to test your ability to fly. I remember you telling me that you are not able to. I want to test just how unable to you actually are."

_This is going to be weird again._

"So are you saying I can? What do you mean 'how unable'?" I ask.

Patchouli clarifies the situation for me again. "Flight is a difficult feat. Some people are better fliers than others. Most choose not to fly because of how taxing it is. Still, it is immensely useful, and many humans and lesser youkai strive to master it. While not everyone can fly, many can 'partially' fly. Some can glide over distances, some others can hover over the ground, and some can simply leap to great heights without actually flying at all. I want to see where you are."

_Ok then. This might be good! Maybe if I can't fly, I can do something else._

"So, how about starting with a jump? Go ahead, jump up." The girl magician orders.

_Eh? Really? This is going to look silly _"Uh… ok?"

I crouch down a little, and leap off the ground and land again. My strength lets me jump a little higher than I thought I would, but it is nothing extraordinary. Nothing a human athlete couldn't outdo.

**Pointless. You cannot fly. I did not give you that power.**

_I know… ugh. Would have been nice to do something at least._

Patchouli jots a note down. "Interesting."

"What? That nothing happened? What is interesting?" I ask.

"Nothing." Without saying any more, she continues. "Knight, understand that flight isn't something that you can just do on a whim. It is a difficult feat. I need you to try as hard as you can to pick yourself up off the ground. Ok? Try jumping again, as hard as you can. It may sound outlandish for you, but that is often how it works the first time."

I begin to talk back. "Patchouli, I don't know if-"

"Do it." She curtly adds.

_No arguing with the tests, I guess. Ok, time to make a fool of myself some more._

I try doing what I think might be a more powerful stance. I kneel down and try focusing on my jump. Setting the air as my goal, I push off the ground as hard as I can.

_Three, two, one!_

I go up.

I sail upward several feet into the air; much higher than humanly possible. If I were close enough, I could meet patchouli at eye level up on the first bookcase walkway.

I then begin to fall. I almost forget to land properly. I manage land on my feet, but nearly slip in the process.

I regain balance, confused as to what just happened. "Wow… What was that? How high did I jump?"

"Good. It seems you do have a bit of aerial ability. How about some practice then? Can you jump up here?" Patchouli asks.

"I… er… think so. Alright, watch out in case my aim is off and I jump into you."

I take a short run towards the wall until I think I'm close to the railing. I wind up my jump again, and leap forward towards the railing. I rise up… and crash into the bottom of the walkway.

Having misjudged how close I am, I miss the railing and jump into the walkway. I slam my head into the hard balcony before falling down. My forward momentum carries me into the bookshelf wall. I tumble down it, dragging several books with me as I slam into the ground.

"Argh! Damn it!" I growl in pain as I crawl out from underneath a few miscellaneous books.

"Are you ok Knight?" Patchouli asks.

I stagger forward while rubbing my head. Once I'm no longer directly underneath her, I can see Patchouli leaning over the railing with a concerned look in her eyes.

I just wave back. "I'm good. Just messed up."

Koakuma gives a few giggles. Patchouli gives an irritated sigh.

"Everyone hits their head every now and then. Try it again. This time, try jumping over, rather than at, the rails." She advises.

"How about I just stand right underneath it and jump straight up. Won't that work?" I ask.

"No. You need to learn how to control your abilities. In Gensokyo, precision aerial moves can be life savers. Learn how to control your directional jumps now. Step back, and jump up here. If you can hit the walkway, then you can certainly grab it."

_Fine. _"Alright, I'll try again."

I back away from the railing a little and turn around to face it. I try again, this time slowly stepping forward a few steps before leaping. Then…

Success. I bump into the railing at the top of my jump and grab onto it before I fall. I struggle to pull myself up though. After a second of hanging, I manage to hoist myself over the railing and land next to Patchouli.

I just leaped up nearly a whole story from the ground to a walkway on a large bookshelf. I can't believe I just performed such a maneuver.

I stand up and face her. "Phew… wow. That was something. How did I do?"

She still has that dull unenthusiastic look in her purple eyes. "Nicely done. Just remember that it is not like flight. You cannot control yourself in mid-air. In combat, jump timing and reflexes will be important to you. Now, how about we take it to the next level. Can you jump up to the next walk from here?"

I look up at the next floor above. I could make it up from here, but I'll have to crawl back out onto the railing to avoid hitting the next floor.

_No pain no gain. Let's see how well I can do with this leaping ability._

I decide to chance it. I crawl back onto the railing and hang from the side. I wind up a leap, and jump straight up from the railing.

I almost miss it, but I manage to grab the floor of the next walkway up. I'm now above Patchouli. I pull myself over and lean over the railing to look down. Patchouli leans over and looks up at me. I wave to her.

_Ha. Take that Arcane. It looks like I can get around after all._

**I am not impressed. You are just using the strength I already gave you.**

_Screw you, that was awesome! I just climbed up two whole floors of bookshelves in less than a minute!_

"Very good. It seems you aren't lacking in athletic abilities. Now… jump off. If you can jump that high, then a fall like this should not hurt you."

I choke up. _She wants me to throw myself off of here? I'll break my legs!_

**You will not. Do it, and see for yourself.**

I take a step towards the railing. "Oh I hope you are right Patchouli. I'm putting faith in you here."

Koakuma giggles again. "That's what they all say. Famous last words."

_I can't believe I'm about to do this… Ok, three… two… one… and!_

I cast aside my reservations and jump onto the railing. Then, I use a powerful leap to jump off sideways, towards the middle of the room. I almost reach the center before gravity begins to take over.

I lose momentum. I have nothing two floors of air under me.

I plummet straight down. _Oooooh shit!_

Then, I land, feet first. A painful shock goes up my legs as I collide with the library ground. A cloud of dust flies out in all directions.

Yet… I seem ok.

I take a wobbly step forward, leaving behind a boot imprint in the carpet from my land. I take another step, and another. I seem fine. I fell from two stories completely unharmed.

I look up at Patchouli as she jots down more notes. "Good. It seems falls don't affect you as long as you land properly."

I sigh a huge sigh of relief before giving into anger. "That was stupid as hell! Don't ever ask me to do that again! Jump off… I can't believe I listened to you for that. I hope you don't have any more for me to do."

"Don't worry. That's it for the physical part. I can use what you told me for the rest." She replies, ignoring my shouting.

_Good… oh wait… not good._

"Ok… what next?" I unenthusiastically ask. I already know the answer.

"Combat." She replies. "I understand your powers are mostly for fighting. So, I have set up a combat trial so that I may observe. I have arranged a few simple battles for you against some of my magical constructs. No danmaku and no spell cards, just straight combat how you see fit. A good clean combat examination."

I hesitate for just a moment. "You are absolutely sure this is necessary?"

"Yes. This is for your own good."

I stand silent for a moment before replying. _No choice… if she says this is for me, then I guess I have to go with it._

"Ok. Fine. If that's what it takes, then that's what it takes."

Patchouli sets her note book aside, which mysteriously stays in the air when she lets go. She picks up another book marked with runes and opens it. "Good. Now. Time to begin the next examination. I'll be watching this one closely… oh, and don't think I'm going to make this easy either. I take great pride in my magic."

_Great…_

**This girl's sorcery should pose no threat to you, as long as she does not attack you herself. Prepare yourself.**

"This is going to be fun." Koakuma says with glee.

Patchouli draws something in the air with her hands. She makes a diamond shape again and again. Five times. Each of the shapes she draws causes a colored crystal to materialize. Five crystals appear; red gold, green, blue, and purple.

_Oh boy… here we go!_

"Get ready Knight. Here is my first opponent."

With her strange magic at her side, she turns a few pages in her spell book and begins her first summoning spell.

* * *

A/N

Thank you for reading my latest chapter. First week of college is over, and I'm glad to be back at the keyboard.

I know in the last chapter I said I intended to have Koakuma as a lingering threat, but I feel like I took that to far in the last chapter. No one in the mansion is truly Knight's enemy now that he lives there, so I sort of attempted to turn her more to the 'scary ally' level rather than 'potential predator' level, as I thought the latter took away from her character's potential. I like this character, and so did some of my reviewers, so I hope this little change of heart isn't a mistake.

Also, a lot of a lecturing here. I want to avoid long and convoluted explanations, but at the same time I feel like this is one of Patchouli's strong points. She's a librarian that's hundreds of years old. She's going to be a person who would enjoy explaining things. I intended for this be a window to develop the world and characters more, but I still fear that long explanations drag down my story. If that turns out to be the case, then I have maybe I can counterbalance it with the coming action scene.

Anyways, thank you again for reading. The next chapter will be ready soon. Actually, it's already partially written, so I hope to have it ready in the next two or three days.


	25. Trial By Element

I stand in front of Patchouli while I wait for to continue… while I wait for her to attack me.

Patchouli quickly scans her book as she prepares her first summoning spell. Floating above her are five crystals, each a different color. Armed with spell book and magical crystals, she is certainly not about to hold back against me.

She makes a slow gesture with her free hand and begins her magic.

_Here it comes… _I nervously think to myself. I've already seen Alice's command of magical minions to be devastating. I fear what Patchouli has cooked up for me.

Suddenly there is a beam of light. The red crystal fires a narrow ray of pure red energy into a spot on the ground in front of me. A circle of red color forms on the ground that expands as magical energy is pumped into it.

Then, Patchouli makes a much quicker gesture, briefly sending a thin beam of green from its respective colored prism.

The beam adds a swirl of green into the red circle. When the second beam ends, the circle begins to solidify.

_What is that?_ I ponder as I slowly approach the finished spell and peer into it. It looks like some kind of portal to me.

**A summoning circle. A well-executed one. A creature approaches from its depths. Stand back!**

Flames begin to stir on the other side of the portal. Fearing what might be coming; I turn and dive out of the way. I hear the flames shoot up from the circle behind me.

When I look back at the flames, they begin to do something strange. The raging pillar of fire warps and compacts. It lessens and becomes smaller and rounder.

Eventually, it becomes a loose ball of fire, about the size of a watermelon. Spears of fire drip from its mass as it floats in the air.

"This jack o' lantern shouldn't be any problem for you. A good test dummy to see your strengths. But please, take it seriously. These things have a nasty bite." Patchouli states after the summon.

I take a step back. "That's the enemy? What do you mean 'bite'?"

A face of pure white flame emerges on the ball of fire. Two circle eyes and a cheesy grin, set with spiked teeth. It begins to giggle in an annoying high pitched voice.

_Oh… right._

**Servant, where is your weapon of choice? Defend yourself now!**

I realize I still am unarmed far too late. The flaming jack makes the first move before I can equip myself. It takes off at me like a rocket, flying straight at me. I throw myself down and let the enemy rush over me.

I quickly rise up and turn around to face the flaming jack. The face slowly reorients itself to me. I summon Fiend and raise the sword in preparation for its next attack.

_Come on… you're going down this time._

The fireball blindly flies at me again, giggling all the while. I'm ready for it this time though, and I sidestep and swing my blade into the fire. There is a slick cutting sound as my blade passes through.

I turn back around to see the damage. My successful hit causes the fireball to split into two halves. The two pieces fall and skid to a halt. The flames around them dissipate, revealing the body I cut to be nothing more than a carved pumpkin.

**It is done. A fly before your wrath.**

The two halves are engulfed in a small fire and disappear. I lower my sword and look up at Patchouli and Koakuma.

"How was that?" I ask.

"You can cut a pumpkin. Hardly extraordinary. Although I do find that weapon interesting. It seems you are no stranger to conjurations. Yet you use no magic. A powerful innate ability. It would take me weeks to make a sword of that quality _with _magic." She observes.

"This one is kind of unique to be honest. I can't reproduce this effect other than with this sword. Most of my weapons look like this." I finish by summoning Nightmare. I hold it up for her to see clearly, displaying all the mechanical facets of it.

Patchouli leans forward and peers at the device. "Hmm. A summoned machine weapon? An interesting note. How about I test your melee prowess then? Prepare yourself for my next spell."

She flips the page in her book once. She repeats the same motion and forms another summoning circle, but this time different colors occur. First, a lot of blue energy. Then, a little golden energy.

_Blue and gold this time. I'm guessing it's not the same creature._

My observation turns out to be correct. The circle begins to bubble and spit as it turns into a slimy substance. A hand rises out of the mess, then another. Slowly, a humanoid figure made entirely out of slick goo emerges.

"Some bog sludge this time. Its toughness should give you something to struggle with for a while. Just try not to get digested."

"Ok?" I feel slightly disgusted by this black slime. There is no way I'm going up close to that thing.

**She sends bugs and scum to test you? **Arcane scoffs.** A poor choice. Show her how badly she underestimated you.**

The goo slides towards me ever so slowly. I have plenty of time to think.

_Blades aren't going to do much against slime. This is probably a trick opponent. She expects me to use melee like she said… hm… bog sludge would be mostly water right? It should freeze just nicely._

I walk towards the crawling sludge and release my dark magic at it. "Harrowing Blizzard."

The air freezes as I send a wave of icy wind at the slime. The enemy freezes almost instantly. It makes one last twitch before becoming completely petrified.

_Got it. Easy work now._

Still holding Nightmare, I walk up to the frozen sludge. Using the scythe head like a pickaxe, I swing down at the body of the enemy. Chunks of ice fall off with each new swing. After one final hit the body cracks and shatters to pieces. A frozen puddle and a few ice shards are all that's left.

I step pass the mess and look up to Patchouli again. "That's another down."

Patchouli looks a little more impressed this time. "That was exceptionally fast. I was not expecting that. It was like magic, but… hmmm… I wonder what else you can do. How about I put your 'magic' to the test."

She begins another summon. She makes several quick gestures with her hand followed by a grand wave. The purple crystal glows brightly before sending a large solid beam into the ground in front of me. Whatever this next thing is, it is going to be pure energy.

The circle of purplish light serves as a portal for the next creature. A pair of golden hands grabs the library floor, pulling the body up.

_What the…_

A large and stout rock-like creature rises up. It's tall and extremely broad shouldered. The being is made entirely out of glistening gold alloy.

"Next up, a metal golem. Gold is hard against magical attacks, so this should keep you preoccupied for a while." Patchouli confidently states.

The metal golem lumbers over to me. Each of its heavy steps kicks up puffs of dust.

**Mere rocks. Is this girl truly a magician? Your projectile weapons will have no problems penetrating its weak body.**

_Straight up gunfire then. You're going down golem!_

I summon Deceiver and fire on the golem. The fiery bullets pierce the soft gold, leaving a deep bullet hold with each shot.

The golem is too stupid to even try and defend itself while I shoot it. Completely unhindered by my pistol, it marches towards me in attempt to strike.

I step away while the golem advances. I continue to reload and fire at it again and again, but it doesn't slow.

_Gah! I'm dealing enough damage. I need to speed this up. A few close up shots should finish it off._

I reload early to be sure my pistol is fully loaded. Then, I take to a sudden offensive charge. The golem makes takes a swing at me, but I easily duck under it and tackle one of its legs. I push into it as hard as I can, eventually tripping the golem.

With the golem lying flat on its back, I quickly run over to the head and grab hold of it, placing Deceiver right in between its eyes. I squeeze the trigger, again and again, in an attempt to execute the metal golem.

It works. Eventually there is a distinct crack, as opposed to the piercing metallic sound that the bullets were making. Something begins to ooze up out of the bullet holes in its head. I step back and let the clear runny substance ooze out of it and onto the floor.

**You have broken its head core. Without a core, a golem is just an empty shell.**

The golem does not move. Instead, it begins to smoke. The body begins to boil and liquefy, spreading out into a puddle. The puddle of gold then begins to dissipate. It fades into the ground and vanishes, leaving nothing but a few puffs of smoke behind.

"I was not expecting that either… you certainly do not lack tactical options. What was that one? It looked like an outsider weapon I saw once." Patchouli says from her spot behind me.

I turn back around to talk to her. "A gun. I'm from the outside, and my weapons come from my mind. They use machines out there, so… my mind thinks in machines. My ranged and melee weapons are amplified by the advanced devices I make them with."

"Interesting… impressive even. Can you show me them? How many do you have?" She asks.

I cycle through all of my current weapons for her. Fiend, Nightmare, Deceiver, Shredder, Chaos. Five in total. I hold each weapon for her to observe. I also tell her about my dark spells and how they work, which she patiently listens to.

After I finish, she speaks again. "I see. A useful power. It seems you have significant combat ability. Yet… I think I may have found a flaw in your powers."

_Flaw? _"What do you mean?"

"Your abilities are… have you noticed the colors of your attacks? Ranged are red and shoot blue flame, magic is always dark green during casting, and I assume any melee weapons will be blue. Isn't it a pattern?"

_Pattern? Red… blue… green… er… she's right. I use color coded attacks. Um… wow. That's kind of weird._

**That is your own folly. True power has no form. It is human nature to need to classify and give logical explanations to everything they see. Your mind is repulsed by unseen power.**

_So you're saying I did this myself? I guess that makes sense, but that doesn't help that I can be really predictable now. Anyone could just pay attention to my movements and figure me out._

Patchouli flips through several pages in her book. I assume she is going to more advanced creature summons.

"So you attacks are varied, but predictable. Very well… I think I might have a way to push your limits a little more then. All you need is an opponent with a good head. A smart enemy should produce more results. Where is…" Patchouli mutters while flipping through more pages.

_Uh oh. I don't know how I'll hold up against an enemy that can predict my moves.  
_

**The magician has her own patterns. These stones around her are the five Chinese elements. Fire, wood, earth, water, metal. She is summoning elementals. These types of creatures are always physically weak. They should be easy kills if you overpower them.  
**

Patchouli soon finds the page she needs. "There it is. Now…"

She uses her crystal to send a strong amount of red energy into a summoning circle. She immediately repeats this effect with the purple one. The two forces mix equally into a powerful summon.

_Elements… so I'm guess that was… fire and metal? I guess it might be like a war machine or something?_

Something else happens that makes me change my mind. In a final touch to her spell, she makes a sweeping gesture in front of her. A pair of gyrating orbs bursts into existence; one a dull silver, one a flaring gold. With a final forward wave, she sends the orbs into the summoning circle, adding their powers to the mix.

_Whoa! What was that? That wasn't an element! Was that light or something?_

**It seems even the sun and moon are at her command.**

_Well so much for patterns. What effect does the sun and moon have?_

The reddish circle suddenly turns to harsh blue flame. A ghostly human figure made entirely of blue fire rises up. The upper body is human like, but the lower body is just a jet of fire shooting downward. The figure is clad in full plate chest armor and helmet, and wields a tall tower shield and powerful broadsword.

Patchouli speaks to her summon. "You there. Summoned servant. His attacks can be predicted by their color. Blue is melee, red is ranged. Watch out for green, as his magic is mysterious and dangerous. He is tricky, so take heed."

The creature turns to her and gives a salute and then turns back to me. Patchouli then talks to me. "There. This magic swordsman is now informed about your abilities. You seem to come up with something new each time I push you though. What will you do this time?"

_So this one really is intelligent? Alright then, fine. I can deal with this. Let's see just how smart she made it._

**Knowledge is nothing before power. Destroy this petty elemental.**

_Right. Here I come!_

Still holding Deceiver, I aim and fire at the swordsman. It quickly responds by raising its shield to stop me. I try firing through the shield, but the bullets only barely break the armor. When I stop to reload, the enemy takes advantage and attacks.

The swordsman dashes forward and attempts to bring its blade down onto me. I slip away from it and push the enemy away with a kick.

_Gah… that was too close._

**What are you doing? Crush it with your magic! It is the only thing it is not ready for.**

_Right. Yeah, a good stun might give me a clean hit on it. I need to wait for an opening or I'll hit the shield though. I just need to let it attack again._

I take a few steps back. The swordsman advances a little. When it seems I'm going into a defensive, my opponent tries to make an attack to test me. It brings its sword sideways in a slash. Its quick maneuvers still lower its defense a little, allowing me an opening.

I duck under the sword and shove my hand towards its helmet. "Mysterious Tremor!"

The beam sinks into the creature, causing it to go limp with weakness. It simply floats in place now, arms at its side and looking downward.

"Gotcha."

I point the pistol at its face and fire. The bullet easily penetrates the old helmet. I put several more holes in the chest, thoroughly trashing its metal body. With the only thing holding the creature together now broken, it begins to loose control.

The armor starts to glow molten red, and the blue flames turn white and violent. It starts to tremble as it prepares to detonate.

_Uh oh. Run!_

I turn and run back. Behind me is a tremendous boom. After the explosion, I turn around and find nothing left behind. The swordsman had died in its own explosion, and is now gone.

Patchouli sighs. "Not nearly as interesting that time. Just being informed doesn't help. To challenge you, the opponent needs to be fully prepared beforehand. Hmm… I think I might have an idea worth trying."

"Patchouli, this is crazy. I'm starting to think you're trying to hurt me down here. Don't you have enough notes?" I ask

She disagrees. "No. I need to learn more about you. I have not found your limits yet. I need to understand all the facets of your power. Why do you ask? Are you getting tired? Nervous?"

"No… I'm just not used to the whole combat regular thing. I'll be fine though."

Patchouli stares at me for a moment.

_Umm. Should I have said something else?_

"So you are not worn out yet? Perhaps I am making this too easy." Patchouli mutters to herself.

_She's been going easy one me? _I nervously think to myself.

She places the book in the air, and it floats in place as if it was on an invisible pedestal. Using both hands, she begins a new spell, the strongest one yet.

A solid beam of greenish wood elemental energy draws a summoning circle. The circle is then complimented with small amounts of golden earth and blue water energy. Finally, she conjures a flaring golden orb and adds it as well.

_Wood, water, earth, and sun… let me guess._

The circle completes. Vines begin to crawl out of the magical portal as the new elemental emerges.

_Yeah… it's a plant._

Suddenly, the circle widens to huge size, forcing me to step back to avoid getting caught in it. A massive wooden hand grabs the edge of the portal, followed by another. Then, all at once, the creature hops out as the circle closes. The being is made entirely out of massive logs and branches. It is like a living tree. It is more than twice as tall as me.

I look up at the massive tree monster. "Uh… Patchouli? Are you sure this is ok?"

Patchouli talks from her spot, behind the tall tree. "You should be fine. You tore apart my other creations so far, so this dendroid walker should be no problem. But before we start…"

Something whirls around the creature as the unseen magician casts her magic onto it. Glittering red lights float around it for a moment before disappearing

"There. A simple fire ward should keep it safe from you fire spewing gun. Now, begin."

The tree already has me within reach, and crouches down and swings its huge claw at me.

**Move.  
**

I lower myself for a brief second to wind up my jump. I then push off sideways, away from the attack. My leap sends me flying low and fast out of the way. I clear the attack just before hitting the ground and finishing with a roll back onto my feet.

I take a step back in shock. I just dived a few yards in a single dodge! Thanks to that move, I am well out of the way now, and have plenty of time to think while the tree slowly recovers.

_Wow. That leaping thing is useful when I need to get away from huge attacks. That would have been useful against that laser thing Marisa used on me._

**Now is not the time to reminisce! Think of how to defeat this thing.**

_Right. If she blocked it against Chaos, then I need some other way to break it. Guns alone aren't going to cut it… cut… cut it with an axe maybe? If my weapons are empowered by magic, then maybe something like an axe will work._

I concentrate on my own creation powers and soon find them again. I make an axe; just a quick mental sketch. I don't even bother with the details. I already know my dark power will deal with that.

The design comes together. I expend some of my magic energy, and the weapon comes to life.

_Alright, done! Now, let's see what you look like. _I think while summoning the new weapon.

I summon the axe weapon into my hand. From hilt to head, it's about as long as my forearm; a short reach weapon. The handle is just like Nightmare, blue with mechanical parts. The axe head is dark gray as well; a sharp semicircle blade with a defensive spike on the opposite side. It would have looked like a fantasy hand axe were it not for the dark machine theme it had.

I test the blade with my finger tips and feel a strange tingle in the blade.

_So Nightmare has a deceptive reach with that energy thing, and can shoot blades of energy when focused. Let's see how this one works._

Before I can move, the tree takes a heavy step forward and brings a fist straight down in front of me. As it collides with the floor, it sends out a wave of thorny vines. The vines rapidly grow and crawl along the ground towards me.

Instinctively, I take the axe into both hands and concentrate on my next attack. The weapon hums as it revs up, and the blade begins to cackle with electric energy.

Right as the vines are about to reach me, I lower myself and bring my axe straight into the ground in a downward chop. All of the weapon's pent up energy is released and rolls along the ground in a narrow wave.

My projectile bursts into electric sparks as it collides with the vines, stopping them short. There is a shower of sparks and embers as the vines fry.

_Electricity? Ha! Not what I had in mind, but all right. Like having a little lightning at my fingertips… like a Storm in my hand. Now that I have this, I should have no problem finishing this thing off! _I confidently think to myself.

I rush towards the large tree while it tries to stand back up. I run around its arm and towards its legs. Now armed with an axe, I intend to cut this tree down.

My new weapon, Storm, lives up to the name I gave it. My strikes are quick and loud like falling lightning. Even unfocused strikes carry passive energy currents into the wood, causing the bark to explode away under the slashes of the axe. The creature, having been spelled against fire, but not lightning, begins to suffer from my slashes. The entire leg begins to pop and hiss as electricity passes through it over and over again.

"Come on… fall… fall… fall!" I continue to slash at its legs with the axe.

Eventually, the creature gives out. With a loud crack, the leg snaps under a final cut. The foot and leg separate, and the tree loses balance and falls with a loud crash.

I move towards the creature's body and recklessly slash it its trunk body. I tear away large amounts of wood with each hit. Splinters and woodchips fly everywhere as I work away at the body, tearing it apart. With no way to stand upright anymore, the tree is helpless to my assault.

After being marred with countless slashes, the tree starts to stop struggling. The lazy movements of its hands stop, and the body begins to fall still.

**Enough. It is done. You are victorious.**

I take a ragged deep breath and step back. The tree monster is defeated. The body begins to dissolve into a greenish mist that vanishes in the air. Soon, nothing is left. It is gone like the others before it.

"Whew! That was a bit tougher. Is that it Patchouli?"

I look over to Patchouli, who is stunned. She quickly composes herself, and speaks with a harsh tone. "That was quite rude Knight. You hid your power from me. Why did you not show me that weapon? How do you expect me to run an accurate test if you are going to cheat me?"

"I didn't have this weapon to show you then. My ability to summon weapons and cast spells also includes being able to create new ones. I… don't understand how it works really. It seems to occur randomly when I am faced with new or overwhelming obstacles." I reply to her accusations.

Patchouli sighs. "I see. So you can create new things on the spot. A special kind of preparation would be needed to really match that. There are not very many creatures in Gensokyo who would be naturally prepared for such a flexible foe, even if you can be predictable at times."

_Alice was…_

Patchouli closes her book and vanquishes the magic crystals. "Fine. That's enough. I don't think there are any constructs available that could match you in straight combat. It seems a living, intelligent opponent is your only real threat."

"Yeah. It's hard for me to keep up with danmaku. All of those bullets make my head spin. That and armor, like that swordsman thing… I rely on straight up power, so tough guys take time for me." I add.

"Yes. You have some interesting strengths and weaknesses. It is a shame though. It seems I will not get to see the limits of your strange powers today." She says, sounding a little disappointed.

_That probably is good thing for me. _I silently add.

"A-anyways. What happens now?" I ask her.

"Now, I do research. Koa, can you work on the spell to get the bookshelves back down again? I need to get to them." She says to her devil.

"Of course Master Knowledge."

"What research?" I question her once more.

Patchouli and Koakuma both fly up over the railing and land on the ground level in front of me. Koakuma walks off to the side and begins to draw some magic spells in the air.

Patchouli walks up to me. "I need to take what I know and try to reference it against known creatures. Again, I think I may have a good idea, but I want to make absolutely sure. I don't want to give you the wrong idea after all."

I nod. "Ok. How long will that take?"

"To go through all of the reference material should take only a month."

_Huh? A month? A MONTH? No way! What am I supposed to do for a whole month? I nearly went crazy trying to figure out half a day!_

"Knight." Patchouli's warning tone snaps me back to attention.

"Yes?" I quickly reply.

"You are shaking. It is really pathetic that you can bring down a dendroid walker with raw might, but can't handle the thought of being alone with nothing to do." She quickly scolds me.

I sigh. "Sorry. It's just the immortal thing is just… it's getting to my head. I just feel so restless and agitated with my mind always active and nothing to focus on. I need something to do than just stand around or I'm going to go crazy."

She smiles a little. "Now you know how half of Gensokyo feels. Let me give you a hint: get a daily routine. Just try and go through the motions of your days, and they will not be so bad. Oh, and that routine does not mean bother me every day either. I need peace."

_I see… just find something to keep myself busy then… alright._

I feel a little uneasy, but I accept. "I understand. Maybe I'll… maybe I'll become a temporary guard and help Meiling. I'm sure she could use some friends out there."

She nods. "Good. I will send for you if I finish early. In the meantime, try to avoid bothering me. Trust that I will use all of my knowledge to help you."

"Thanks. I trust you with this." I quietly reply.

She turns around and begins to go back to her room. "Thank you. Now leave me to my studies. I have much to do."

I turn around and go back outside. I pass through the door and leave the magician and devil behind me.

_A month… damn it. Am I just supposed to wait around for her? What if I… what if I don't last that long?_

I try to avoid thinking about it, but Arcane's presence in my mind is a constant reminder that I carry a dark burden. The dark good could turn on me any day. A month is a big risk.

**Calm yourself servant. You will hurt yourself thinking about such things. As for the time, I leave that to you. I must depart from you again, this time for a much greater period. I will return from time to time to monitor you, but you are on your own for now. Know that I will still be watching you. Don't get any funny ideas while I am gone.**

_What? Arcane?_

No answer. I am alone now. Arcane's words leave me a little uncertain to the god's real plans.

_Well, no use worrying about it now. I guess I just try to pass the time for now. I'll start with Meiling. Let's see how the china girl is doing._

I begin to work my way outside the mansion, but I eventually screw up and get lost.

_Lost again! I thought I knew it this time. I guess I still need a guide._

I walk around for another minute until I find a fairy maid.

_There you are. Now I can get outside and find Meiling… Here comes the start of a long month._

I walk up to the fairy. "Excuse me…"

* * *

A/N

Thank you for reading my latest chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.

I've seen some fan works where Patchouli uses golems or uses magical beings to fight with her. I think this better fits the kind of old fashioned magician that Patchouli is. I know some of these things are made up and seem really far out of the Touhou universe, but with Patchouli being the kind of person who uses all kinds of old magic, I thought they integrated just fine. I wanted to have a little struggle against Patchouli in the story, but I couldn't have her be the opponent and take the notes, and I think i've had enough Koa for now, so I tried to make a third option. I hoped this multi-man melee would be an interesting compromise of a scenario.

I also tried to let this be a subtle dark note on Patchouli's character. Just like Eirin, I think she's the kind of person who lives for her study. She is a little unrepentant about throwing magic at Knight just to see how he reacts. Being immortal for that long might make you a bit uncaring about the pains of others, and I tried to show some of that here.

Thank you again. I'll have the next chapter ready soon.


	26. The Forged Man

Patchouli did not finish early.

_Fifty days…_ I think to myself.

It's been a month and a half since Patchouli started her research. She's nearly two weeks behind her promise. Even though I know better than to question the magician, I can't help but wonder what is taking so long. I've become restless and frustrated. I know it's for the best, but I can hardly stand the waiting.

During this time I've followed Patchouli's advice. I keep a daily routine, one that I follow religiously. It helps to always have a designated time for everything… but it's been fifty days. For a normal human, it might be fine. But not for me… time's passing is slow and painful. I don't sleep, I don't eat. I'm a living weapon, and with no purpose, I am just useless. I feel like I'm wasting away in this mansion.

But despite my frustration, the world continues without me. Everyone is slowly going back to their regular routine.

Sakuya… She's always working. Cleaning, cooking, preparing, advising… she does it all. The fairies are rather incompetent, so she does most of the work. She has control over time, and by using a magical pocket watch she can complete extraordinary amounts of work in mere seconds. Sakuya is usually busy all the time, so she does not talk to me much anymore.

Remilia… If I ever get a chance to talk with the maid, it's because she happens to be with Remilia. The vampire mistress has been coming to me more and more often, mostly because Patchouli won't listen to her right now. I find her arrogant attitude to be annoying, but she can be insightful and wise at times too, so I try to make the most of our conversations. She may sometimes call me away from whatever I'm doing just to sit down and have tea and chat, or she might just show up at random to ask me some questions. It's a pleasant distraction at least.

Flandre… Remilia's sister is rarely seen. If I do see her, she is either being guided away, or is with Remilia. I've been told she is never to leave the mansion. I've also been told that she has some 'dangerous' behaviors, so I just try to avoid her all together. Just like her sister though, she has a habit of showing up randomly, almost like she materializes from the mist. She speaks nonsense to me, and often seems a little crazy. I wonder what her story is sometimes.

Meiling… The person I talk with the most. Following my own advice, I've taken up duty as a secondary guard to the mansion. With no need to eat or rest, I often replace Meiling so she can take a break. Other than that, we often work side by side at the gates or patrol separately on the grounds. Meiling is friendly and talkative. Like Remilia, she has a lot of interest in things from the outside world, and often asks me questions. I enjoy talking with her and remembering my old world. My memories may be long gone, but I still hold onto what I can.

As for me…

I spend most of my time outside guarding with Meiling or talking with Remilia. I don't get many intruders, but the occasional troublemaking fairy is easy work for my pistol. Other than that, I leave most of the serious threats for the real guard. I take a few breaks during the afternoon to relax and get away from working, but since I'm not employed here I can just leave whenever I feel like; sometimes I do.

When I take breaks I often come here. A place few know how to access, and fewer bother to visit. The one place in the mansion with a window. The one place I won't be bothered by Remilia or Flandre or fairies or whatever else.

The clock tower.

Funny that I should find peace from time's passing amidst the gears of the giant clock. The slow, rhythmic clacking of the countless gears is soothing and relaxing. Rhythms like this help put my mind at ease. I don't know how the mechanisms work, but they are always turning, always moving that minute hand ever so slowly. The dull light shining through the massive clock face is easy on the eyes too.

There is a glass door next to the clock face that permits access to a tiny outside balcony. I can walk outside the tower and look over Gensokyo from here, or on colder days like today I can just stare out through the door and watch the day play out. From here, I quietly watch the world I no longer visit. It really is quite beautiful compared to the great iron cities I come from.

I've just finished another day of guarding. So far, my day has been just another day of waiting.

But today…

_Come on… after fifty days she finally finds something, but then I have to wait even longer? What is she preparing that is so important that she has to make me wait again? She knows how I feel about this! She better not be lying to me… _I angrily think while I wait for her summons.

Today, Patchouli has made a breakthrough. I went to see her, but she immediately tells me to wait for noon. I don't know why, but I can barely stand the anticipation. It's only two minutes to noon now though, so she should be sending a fairy to come find me any second.

Suddenly, I feel a shadow fall over my mind.

**I have returned once more. My work is now finished. I see you have returned to this tower again. I assume nothing has happened yet.**

I mentally sigh at Arcane's return. The mysterious dark god has been coming and going over the past few days. Most of the time he reappears in my mind and immediately leaves again without saying anything, other times he says nothing more than a sentence or two. I still wonder what his plans really are. What is he doing in Gensokyo? What am I to him? What is he and why does he need suffering? I still have no answers.

I reluctantly reply to him. _Actually, Patchouli said she made some progress today. I'm waiting for her to-_

"Um… excuse me? Is Knight here?"

I stand up and look towards the lower stairs. On them is a fairy maid, curiously looking around as she climbs the unfamiliar tower. I walk over to the edge of the railing and lean over.

"Up here." I say to her.

She jerks her head up, looking a little bit surprised. She calms down though, and relays her message. "Patchouli wants to see you in the library. She's expecting you so please hurry."

_Finally! _"Ok. I'll be right there."

_I hope this is good. I don't want to go down there to be told that she can't find anything. I don't want to find out I just wasted a month for nothing._

**We shall see.**

I quickly walk down the rickety metal stairways and approach the fairy. The messenger waves goodbye and takes off in front of me, leaving me to descend alone. I quickly jog down the metallic steps and reach the bottom after a minute or so. The stairs lead down to an open trap door with some old folding wood steps.

I leave the gears of the clock tower behind and descend into the room below. There is a table and a candle in here and nothing else. This probably used to be some party room or something, but is now in complete disuse. By chance, I came into this room in my spare time and found a trap door open. This is the only way I know into the tower.

I exit the room, leaving the stairs down behind me. Now familiar with these crimson halls, I quickly make my way to the library. The clock tower is about in the middle of the mansion, and the library is near the leftmost side of the mansion. It does not take me very long to reach it from here.

I reach the old library doors and push them open. Inside Patchouli is waiting for me at her desk, reading some book like usual. She looks up at me as I approach her.

"Knight." She acknowledges me in her usual terse fashion.

I greet her back. "Hey there Patchouli. I'm dying to know something here. What did you get for me? Did you finally come to a conclusion?"

She nods. "Yes… this may take a bit of explaining, and this might confuse an outsider like you. I hope you are really ready for this."

_Uh oh… _"I'm not going to like this am I?"

She does not reply. Instead, she beckons for me to come over.

I walk over to her. She reaches into her desk and hands me a thick musty book, already open to a page.

"Read it." She says.

I hesitantly look down into the book and read the passage aloud.

"Chapter eleven… The secret of the ancient golems. While most think golems as simple constructs of conjured matter, they were once feared as an extremely advanced race, controlled by powerful dark lords. The ancient gods relied on mostly on their followers to serve as prophets for them. But the four dark gods, Loss, Suffering, Fear, and Chaos, were isolated and had no followers to send. Instead, they created golems to do their work. Using their corrupted dark magic, they were able to create the perfect servant. These automations were completely life like, and acted as messengers, vessels, or champions for their creators. Unlike any normal golem, these creatures had their own souls, and were both intelligent and dangerous. During times of war, these ancient servants were extremely powerful due to being made from the pure power of their gods. They were capable of creating destructive weapons from their own energy, and were even capable of slaying other warring gods. Relying only on the power that they are made of, they served loyally for countless years without rest. These were… truly fearsome… beings."

_Rest… weapons… dark god… am I?_

I continue reading. "Eventually, all of these golems were destroyed and the dark gods fell out of existence. As the dark gods disappeared, they took the secret to the perfect creation with them. The means for creating these creatures is now long forgotten. The magic art of constructing golems was later rediscovered, but these are only a crude shadow of these once terrifying beings."

I put the book down.

Patchouli speaks quietly. "I know it sounds strange, but there is no other thing I can think of. No living thing is sustained by pure power like you, and your abilities match the description to the letter. I do not know how, and I do not know why. By all means, you should not even exist, but you are a golem… a very old and powerful one."

All I can think of is that thing I fought yesterday. That lumbering metal beast she called a metal golem. Is that what I have been reduced to? A thing? A construct? A machine?

I sigh and look downward.

**Did you expect anything else? You are a servant to me, and nothing more.** The distorted voice of Arcane says once again.

_I thought… I thought I died and you resurrected me. You mean to say that I died and you 'rebuilt' me? _I angrily think back.

**What the book does not detail is that the reason our servants were 'life like' is because they were made from life. Or rather… dying life.**

_So I was never resurrected. You took my body and rebuilt me into a golem. But why the eyes? She said I had the eyes of a devil. Even Koakuma agreed._

**Admittedly, the process was not always 'perfect' like this books states. Your death left you a mess. I had to make some replacements. I took what was still available to me, reaching out from the edge of my domain to gather whatever broken remains I could. I gathered the missing parts and spun my essence into you. Thus, I remade you.**

_I… I can't believe this. I'm… not even alive. I'm not even dead! Are these thoughts just magical processes then? Is this all some fake personality I have? I might not even be the same person I once was!_

"Knight. I know that may be hard to hear, but it is the truth. Just because you are a golem does not mean you cannot live a normal life here. You are still you. You still have a place amongst us here in Gensokyo." Patchouli says to me.

I shout back at her. "What do you mean live? I'm not even alive! Gah, I can't believe this! How could this happen to me? Why me? Why do I have to be a machine? What am I going to do with myself now? I don't want to go on like this! I'm not even a person. I don't even have a 'life' to fight for anymore..."

I slam my fist into her desk to vent some frustration. I remain standing there, leaning over the desk muttering to myself.

A chair pulls away. I hear a shuffling of robes. I feel a tap from Patchouli on my shoulder. Slowly, I pull myself upright and turn to face her.

Then… a crack. Pain.

"Ow!" I take a step back as Patchouli slaps me across the face.

She rubs her hand for a second before speaking. "First. Do not shout in the library. Second. That was perhaps the most pathetic overreaction ever. You are a grown man, act like it. Third. I was only giving you want you wanted. If you are going to deny the truth like a child than you can get out of here. This is a place of wisdom, not ignorance. And fourth. Just because you are not a living thing does not mean you cannot have a life. You are no machine, and certainly no servant. You are still you, regardless of what you are. Now that you know who you are you can move on and _live_."

I remain quiet, still shocked by her slap.

"So. Are you going to let this destroy you? Or am I still looking at a Knight?" She asks me.

I take a deep breath before finally replying. "Your right… I am… Knight, a golem."

**Hm? You accept this so easily.**

_Because I know she is right. The forgotten dark gods… you were one of them weren't you? The dark god of suffering. You made me, just like you used to way back when. It makes everything in that book true. If that's the case, then the part about 'being able to kill gods' is true too! I can still stop you, even if I am just a golem. I won't give up. I will rid this world of you._

**Persistent. I have dealt with troublesome servants before. When the time comes, you will play exactly as intended, just as the others have before you.**

_I dare you to try._

Arcane makes a distorted growl before falling silent.

"Knight, are you ok?" Patchouli asks again.

I nod. "Yeah. Just letting this all soak in. I'm good. Um… sorry about that. I really should be thanking you right now. I know you've been working nonstop for me on this. Thanks for everything Patchouli."

She crosses her arms. "Much better. You are most welcome. Now, this brings me to my next point."

_Next?_

She goes on to explain. "As you just read, you are most likely a golem by that description. An exceptionally old one."

"But I'm not old. I'm new to all of this. " I reply in my defense.

"That is beside the point. The point is that a golem like you is incredibly advanced. More advanced than possible with any modern power. Not even the lunarians and their science could make something as sophisticated and complex as you. You are a rarity and a major discovery. You could have some world changing secrets in your body. Thus… I would like to examine again. More specifically, I want to see inside you." She finishes.

_Inside?_ "What? How are you going to see inside me?"

She points to me. "This is where I need you to help me. I know of a spell that will allow me to project a sort of… how shall I say this… magical chart of your powers."

"Like an X-ray or something?" I ask.

She gives me a blank, slightly irritated look.

I groan. "Never mind…"

She goes on. "Basically, I use this spell on you, it lets me see inside you and draw a picture of your magic. If all goes well, I can figure out what you are made of and how your power works. It would be a big step into gaining a better understanding of who you are and maybe reveal some greater secrets about the way magic and dark forces work."

"So how do I fit into this?" I ask, hoping to get a normal answer from her this time.

She sighs, turning away slightly as she thinks. "Well… this spell is extremely complicated. Two of the ingredients are… unique. I… I am no good with this sort of thing, so I will be blunt. I need you to find some of the spells reagents. I know you do not like combat, but this will require you to hunt down some dangerous people."

I hesitate before replying. "What kind of opponents?"

"There are two things you will need to find. The first is the feather of a certain hell raven in the underground. She is fused with a Yatagarasu, a sun god probably as old as your creators. The holy wisdom of the sun god is still contained inside her body and her feathers." She explains.

_Hell raven? That does sound dangerous._

She continues. "The second, I need you to acquire a rare artifact from the highest reaches of youkai mountain. The Sword of Hisou is a powerful celestial artifact that reveals the spiritual nature of a person targeted by it. Usually, this is used for finding and exploiting weaknesses, but combined with the mystic wisdom of the Yatagarasu I will be able to see and understand the nature of your power. After that, I can map out the details and use them as a reference."

_Sword of Hisou. I'll probably have to take from its wielder no doubt…_

She goes on to finish, becoming more enthusiastic with each sentence. "You can help me reveal a great magical secret Knight. The power of the dark gods, the power of the perfect creation. Knight, you can not only live, you can make a difference in this world. The secrets inside you could redefine Gensokyo."

**One to understand, one to see. Perception and wisdom combine to create knowledge. A sound effort.**

_Understand my power… that would be a good step in figuring out how to use it against Arcane. But…_

"What's so difficult about it?" I ask.

She sighs as my question brings her mood down. "I will admit these are not things that will be easy to acquire. Neither of their owners will be willing to give up their item. You will be facing some very strong opponents, and you will make several enemies."

_Geez… It can't be easy can it? Well fine. I can't give up and let Arcane have his way with me. They may not understand… but it's for the best. I have to stop Arcane no matter what._

I agree. "I understand. If it helps figure out how I work, then I'll do it. I need to learn as much as I can about these strange powers I have. I'll help you."

Patchouli looks a bit surprised. "You are sure then? Our arrangements are square you know. I helped you once, you helped me once. We are even now. This is purely voluntary on your part."

"No. It's not. I need this. I'll do whatever it takes to help you solve this." I confirm again.

She nods. "Very well. I am glad to have your assistance."

"Happy to offer it." I reply. "Now, where do I find this sword wielder and hell raven?"

She goes back to her seat and opens a book again. This is usually a sign that she is about to dismiss me.

She talks to me while sifting through some old spells. "I will tell you tomorrow morning. I have something to finish preparing first. Get here early so you can head off soon. There is going to be a lot of walking, so you should prepare some things for the travel in the meantime. You would also do well to rest. Keep your strength up, and I will see you tomorrow."

_More waiting. Well I'm fine with that this time. This time I'm getting somewhere. I'd better go get my things together for tomorrow._

"Right. Thanks again. I'll be here tomorrow. See you then." We both give a quick wave goodbye to each other and turn our separate ways.

I begin to head out the door when someone else comes in. The door opens before I can touch it to reveal Remilia and Sakuya.

The vampire smiles a little when she sees me. "Ah, Knight. I was looking for you. I heard Patchy just found out what you are. Did I miss the big reveal?"

I open my mouth to answer, but another voice interrupts me.

"Hello Master Scarlet and Master Izayoi. You just missed it. Knight is a golem."

I close my eyes and sigh as the succubus speaks for me.

Remilia tilts her head. "Golem? Like one of Patchy's creations? You certainly don't look like a golem."

"Oh, that's because he is a special one. We think-"

I whirl around and glare at Koakuma, who quiets as I shoot a little of my fear spell into her. "I can speak for myself Koakuma."

I blink the spell away as I turn back to Remilia. "Anyways, it's complicated. I'm probably made from some really old and dark spells or something. Patchouli thinks it's good stuff, and wants me to get some things for her so she can perform a spell that will allow her to make sense of my powers."

"My, how interesting. It seems Patchouli has really taken a liking to you. How about you tell me about it over some tea?" Remilia offers.

_You probably meant to be late just so you could say that. Devious little vampire…_

I slowly nod in agreement. "Yeah. Sure. But not too long; I got to get ready to go later."

"Oh we have time, right Sakuya?" Remilia asks to her maid.

"Of course My Lady."

She gestures for me to follow. "Come, let us talk."

Remilia turns away. I follow after her. I am followed by Sakuya, and Koakuma trails behind.

"Koa! Where do you think you are going? Get back here and help me with these books!" Patchouli calls from her desk.

The devil sighs and reluctantly turns back. Patchouli may be a hard worker, but she drives Koakuma just as hard. I don't blame the succubus for taking every chance she gets to be lazy.

Now reduced to three, we head off into the mansion to take part in another afternoon of idle conversation.

But this is no ordinary day anymore. I know what I am, and I know what I can do. I know for certain that I can destroy Arcane. I just have to figure out how. With Patchouli's help, I can finally begin the long journey to unraveling the dark god's curse over me.

_Fifty days… worth it._

**Indeed.**

I feel a bit more at ease after all of this. With a slightly lighter step, I follow Remilia to another session of tea and cake.

One last party before my long and perilous journey.

* * *

A/N

Thank you for reading my latest chapter. I put a lot of effort into this one, so I hope you enjoyed it.

A lot of stuff happened here. First, a lot of time passed. I wanted to describe Knight adapting to Gensokyo life a bit more without going through all of the awkward life chapters. I tried having a little fun with Knight reminiscing about the past events, and used this opportunity to expand on some of the mansion's residents and close some gaps.

Then, a reveal about Knight and a little about Arcane. I knew I couldn't keep Knight in the dark forever, and I needed this discovery to be somewhat of an impact. I wanted the type of creature Knight is to be a defining character trait, rather than just a minor story event. I tried thinking of something interesting that would tie into the story and would stand out as unique. Also, Arcane and the three other dark gods mentioned are variations on the (original) four horseman of the apocalypse. Loss as Death, Fear as Conquest, Chaos as War, and Suffering (Arcane) as Famine. Whereas Famine pertains to a widespread loss of food and water, Arcane portrayed as suffering is instead of a widespread loss of hope and faith. The other three are meant to be more metaphysical apocalypses rather than actual plagues, and each one lends power to the others.

Finally, I wanted to be creative with tying the events of youkai mountain and the underground together. I thought bringing Tenshi and Reiuji as two linked goals would be a unique way to send Knight to both those places, and would give me the space I need to unfold more of the story. It might be a little outlandish, but I think it works.

Anyways, Thank you again for reading my chapter. I hope to have the next ready soon.


	27. Departure and Discord

_Ugh… where is it? _I angrily think to myself.

It's the morning of my departure. I'm to go on a long journey through the Forest of Magic and into Youkai Mountain. I will be both climbing and entering the mountain in search of two rare artifacts for a revelation spell for Patchouli.

It's the morning of my quest… and I can't find my own stuff.

My room is turned upside down; sheets are scattered, spare clothes are on the floor, the dresser drawer is open and everything is a mess. I walk over to my bed once again and peer underneath it in search of a small wood lockbox. Of course, it is not there.

I continue to search about my room for my items. I know they are here somewhere.

Time passes for a moment before someone enters my room. It is the head maid, Sakuya.

"Hm? Whatever are you doing? Are you searching for something?" She asks.

I give an irritated sigh. "Yeah. I lost my stuff. You don't see a small wood chest do you?"

"I believe it to be in your nightstand." She calmly replies.

_I've already searched that though… I guess I'll give it another look._

I walk over to the already opened nightstand and look inside the small table. I see nothing but darkness in there.

"Not there." I say while standing up.

Sakuya walks over to me. She reaches past me into the darkness in the nightstand. When she retracts her hand, she has a small wooden box about the size of a notebook. She hands it to me without saying anything.

_Wow. How could I have missed that? I guess I didn't even bother reaching inside I can't believe I was just so incompetent in front of the maid. She knows my own stuff better than me._

I sheepishly thank her. "Er… um… thanks."

She makes a short bow. "Of course. Now, Patchouli is waiting for you in the library. You should take your things and head there soon. It is already seven A.M."

_Shit. I'm gonna be late to our meeting! The last thing I want to do is get her mad at me before I go._

I quickly nod. "Yeah. Tell her I'll be right there."

"Of course." Sakuya turns around and exits my room.

I set the box on top of the nightstand and open it. Inside is my flashlight, a healing potion in a crystal flask, a pair of new climbing gloves I got from Kourindou, and fifteen hundred Yen I have yet to spend. I pocket all of my items and don the gray gloves.

Now geared for another travel, I stuff the box back into the nightstand and close it. I hurriedly throw everything back into place and close the door on my way out.

_No time to waste. Library, now!_

I run down the halls, passing several fairies on my way there. I reach the library in only a minute.

I quickly burst into the library and approach Patchouli, who is tapping her fingers on her desk while waiting for me.

"You took your time." She says to me as I walk up.

"Sorry. Just getting excited is all. I lost track of time last night." I reply, hiding the fact that I lost my belongings.

She closes the book she is reading and stands up. "Well, I have a surprise for you today. Wait here."

_What? What's this? Patchouli actually has a gift for me? This is new!_

She walks back into her room for a moment before returning. When she comes back, she has a large parchment wrapped bundle.

She hands the bundle to me. "Here, I thought you might need some things for your travels. You will be facing some dangerous opponents, so I thought you would do well to better equip yourself."

I take a step back and eagerly unwrap Patchouli's gift.

"A… Jacket?"

I look at the heavy cloak. It's about knee length on me, made from a mysterious dark material that is firm, smooth, and somewhat shiny, yet is not leather. There are no pockets on the inside, but it makes up for it with several side pockets. Rather than buttons or ties to close it, two grayish armor plates lock together mechanically over the chest accompanied by a belt for the waist. Additional armor pieces are added to the shoulders and arms, and a ring of armor sits on the bottom hem.

I've never seen anything like it. It looks more like battle gear than attire. But that's exactly what I need.

"Go ahead and try it on. I need to see if it fits you." Patchouli says.

I take off my ratty safari jacket and put on the armor coat. As I equip it, I notice it is surprisingly light. The armor is actually flexible, and moves with my body. It is also quite warm, and very comfortable.

I bring the slide the two chest pieces together, and they mysteriously snap into one on their own. I tie the belt to hold the long jacket together and adjust to the new garment. It's still a bit heavier than my other jacket, but feels much tougher.

I go ahead and transfer all of my other items out of the tattered jacket and leave it to be thrown away with the parchment wrappings.

"I made it from that old experiment of mine. Do you remember that stone I made that could dull danmaku? I fused it with this jacket and added some simple armor accessories to add some physical defense. It won't make you invincible, but it will definitely help. Since you don't regenerate from injuries, every effort to raise your defense is a vital upgrade." Patchouli details.

_Whoa! _"Really? This is awesome Patchouli. Finally, some decent magical defense. I'll definitely be putting it to good use."

The seductive voice of Koakuma emerges from behind followed by a silk touch running over my shoulder. "Nice colors. Black looks good on you. You should wear dark more often."

I take a step away from the intrusive girl. "I-I'm not into that kind of stuff. Anyways, the jacket feels great. Thanks for the thought; this will make a big difference. It's good to know someone is keeping an eye out for me."

"Of course. I do want you alive after all." She takes her seat again. "Now, do you remember where you are going? Past the Forest of Magic is Youkai Mountain. From there, you will need to go into the great cave near its river to go underground for the feather. After that you will go up the mountain itself until you reach the top for the sword. I would recommend getting the feather first, as you do not want to be stuck carrying the Sword of Hisou underground."

I nod. "Yeah. I see that mountain all the time. It shouldn't be too much of a problem. Underground first, then the high mountain. Easy."

"Don't get cocky yet. You will be going to Gensokyo's most dangerous places alone." She warns.

I nod. "Yeah, I know that. I don't intend to die out there."

She turns to her books once more. "Good. Then if you are ready and have no more questions than you should go."

**Your journey will be long and perilous. Make sure you are ready.**

I think for a moment to make sure I'm not missing anything. Jacket, potion, flashlight, money, gloves, and a small arsenal of weapons and dark spells. If I'm not ready for a journey, then I don't know what is.

"No. I think that's it. I should be good from here." I say.

"Very well. Good luck." Patchouli says back.

Koakuma waves goodbye. "Goodbye. Come back in one piece for me. I'll be _waiting._"

_These two sure are an odd pair. Still, it's good to have them on my side._

I wave goodbye to them. "I'll do my best. Goodbye."

I turn and exit the library and leave the mansion. It's time to begin the journey to the mountain.

As I step out, I am hit with a harsh chill.

It is sleeting. Fat rain falls, cold and hard. The ground is slick with ice, and frost clings to everything. The wind is cold and brutal, and the sleet is heavy.

_Man. It had to be the worst possible weather for a journey._

**Such is fate. Yet, this weather is strange. Expect unusual things to happen.**

I continue out into the harsh weather. The new jacket sends protective warmth through my whole body, and my gloves help guard my hands. The cold will not be my enemy today.

I walk down the courtyard and to the gate, careful not to slip on the slick stone. As I approach the gate, I find Meiling still at her post, arms crossed even as ice clings to her dress. Rain is one thing, but even youkai are bothered by cold. The fact that Meiling isn't even flinching is a sign of how tough and dedicated she is.

She gives me a friendly nod as I approach. "Hey Knight! I heard you were leaving today. Going to the mountain? Just be careful in that forest, it's a weird place. Oh, and don't die."

"I'll be careful. Thanks. I'll see you later."

I pass through the gates and head down towards Misty Lake.

As I near the lake, I can't help but take a good stretch. This has been the farthest I've been from the mansion in over fifty days. It feels good to be back on my feet and back on the road. Maybe when this is all over, I can actually enjoy myself out here.

But first, I need to get Youkai Mountain. Since flying isn't an option for me, the only way through is the Forest of Magic. I have been told the forest is a strange place, home to many magical anomalies. I know Marisa to live here, and I hope to find her on the way to the mountain to see if I can get any kind of aid from her.

I walk past the lake, which is now frozen. The lack of mist makes the pathway completely clear. The path in front of me is empty, and no one is around.

Everything out here is quite eerie now that I am alone. The trees and there autumn leaves are now gray and frost covered. The grass lacks color under the crystals of ice. The lively lake is silent, and the nearby trees hold no life.

Everything is dead silent out here…

Until…

I suddenly hear a voice ahead. A frustrated growl of a young girl.

_Hmm? Let's see who that is._

I quickly walk forward along the dirt pathway towards the area ahead of me, past the lake and the trail to it. It takes me only a minute to find the source of the disturbance.

I reach the large clearing with the sign near the entrance to the Forest of Magic. Ahead of me is a group of people, all girls.

I use my devil eyesight to zoom in on them. There are four girls in two equal groups arguing with each other.

One is a tall woman dressed in a casual blue and white dress with light purple hair. Her baggy outfit almost looks like a magician's robes. Combined with her adult figure, she looks powerful and imposing as she towers over the other three.

Next to her is a much younger girl, a pre-teen by appearance. She is dressed in a simple blue day dress, and her azure hair is tied back with a puffy blue bow. She looks like she is dressed for summer rather than winter. The jagged spear-like wings on her back are made of solid crystal ice, indicating that she may not be worried about a little sleet.

The other party has two young women about the same age. One is a short girl wearing a brownish apron over a yellow and black country dress combined with a red cap. Strangely enough, the cap has some kind of fruit on it… or maybe it is a vegetable; it is hard to tell.

Next to her is the second tallest woman in the group, a blond just like her other. She is in a long red dress that is trimmed unusually with cutouts in the shape of leaves. Her hair also has a leaf ornament on it.

Her and her companion have bright green gloves and scarves thrown on. I've learned that Gensokyo girls take great pride in customizing their appearance, so odd additions or clashing designs are usually signs that something is off.

I walk a bit closer. They are some ways down the path to Kourindou, but I can hear them from over here. Their conversation slowly becomes clear as I approach unnoticed by the arguing girls.

"…ake that decision. That's not your place!" Says the leaf girl as she menaces at the taller woman in white.

"And why not? You do it every year and so does that fairy. So what is your justification that I, a snow woman, can't?" The tall woman replies with a soft tone that contrasts her harsh words.

The leaf girl points threateningly at her. "Lily is the _herald _of spring. I am a _goddess_ of autumn. _You_ are just a youkai! Sure, you may be at your strongest during the winter, but that doesn't mean you control the season! You can't just declare autumn to be over, especially not halfway through the season; _our _season! You don't make the rules here,we do. _We _are goddesses who control the coming and passing of autumn, not you Letty, and especially not you Cirno!"

The short girl, who I assume is Cirno, scoffs at the remark. "Tch. So you'll let that ditz call spring, but you won't let me call winter? Pfffft. Lame. I'm twice as strong as her. I'm the strongest fairy there is! So what's the deal?"

The girl in the hat speaks with a serene tone as opposed to her ally's brash attitude. "It has nothing to do with power, but rather it is responsibility. You lack have the self-control needed to be a heraldic fairy for winter."

"Yeah? And who made you boss _Minoriko._" The loud girl shoots back.

"Choosing a herald is the decision of a god or celestial. Because a herald of winter would directly influence our power, it is our decision. Both me and Shizuha agree that you are not ready to be a herald of winter." She calmly replies.

The girl named Letty speaks up next. "What about me then? Can I not herald the season?"

Shizuha shakes her head no. "Only fairies can herald a season, and only goddesses can control it. Since you aren't either, you're out of-"

Letty interrupts. "So that's how it is then? Only gods can? So what if I became a goddess? All I need is some faith right? That's all you gods care about isn't it? Cirno, I am the goddess of winter, will you worship me and give me your faith?"

"All hail Letty, goddess of winter!" Cirno says as she pumps her fist into the air.

Letty smiles. "There, I have faith. I am the goddess of winter now. Thus, I declare this day to be the first of winter."

Shizuha trembles with anger as Letty deconstructs her status. "You can't just become a goddess like that! Even if you were the new goddess of winter, changing the season is something you would have to consult us with. Seeing as we outnumber you two to one, than I say your decree is garbage, and that your status as goddess of winter is also garbage!"

Letty chuckles. "Children please, you can argue with me all you want, but winter is winter. Look around. The leaves are frozen, and the harvest is wasting away. I see a winter, so I'm calling a winter. Simple as that."

"You can't make that call Letty! Cold or no, it stays autumn!" Shizuha shouts.

"Pffft. Lame. All you gods are full of it."

"Don't test us Cirno." Minoriko warns.

The two groups continue to shout and threaten each other. If things go on like this, this will most likely turn into a danmaku fight.

I take a step back. _I wonder if I should say anything…  
_

**I do not care. Choose a fight or leave. The forest is behind you.**

I mentally sigh._ You're probably right. I don't have to go that way, and picking a side isn't going to help the fight anyways._

I turn around_. I'll just head into the forest now._

"Hey! You!" Cirno calls from behind me.

_Or not._

"Yo, guy in the jacket. Turn around. I got a question for ya." Cirno sounds louder as she closes in on me from behind.

I turn around a bit reluctantly. The four girls walk towards me. Letty leisurely trails behind her tomboyish ally, and Minoriko quietly walks behind the hot-headed Shizuha.

They are certainly an odd group. Every aspect about them clashes with each other. I am nervous what they have in mind with me.

"So what is some weirdo in a coat supposed to solve?" Shizuha angrily asks as they join with me.

"Sister, please calm down. You are disgracing yourself." Minoriko says from behind her.

Shizuha stops and takes a few deep breaths while Letty approaches me to speak.

Letty greets me. "Hello there. Enjoying the weather?"

_Trick questions already. The two autumn people wouldn't like it if I start agreeing with her. I don't want to agree or disagree with anyone here. I need to avoid getting caught up in the argument if I want to run._

_I'll just be blunt; maybe chase them off. _"What do you want? I have a lot of places to go and not a lot of time to talk."

Letty smiles a somewhat fake smile. "Oh, don't worry. We only want a minute of your time. We have a simple question."

_I don't want in on this. I should just leave. _"About the seasons? I heard you all the way down the road. I don't care, and I don't want to get involved. I have to go. Now if you'll excuse me."

I turn around, but a hand grabs my arm. Letty's grip is as cold as ice, and chills me all the way through the jacket.

"Oh, you are already involved. You got involved when you started eavesdropping on our conversation. Don't think I didn't notice you there. So I suggest you turn around and finish what you started."

_Shit… curiosity killed me._

I slowly turn around; Letty takes a step back and resumes her question. "You see, we are at a bit of an impasse here about the current season. Seeing as we can't resolve the situation peacefully, we have decided to ask a neutral party about what they think. So, since you are here, we are going to let you judge."

"Why not fight it out?" I ask, hoping to get out somehow.

"Oh, we fight all the time. But fights won't solve this. We'll just go back to arguing the next day. We are going to settle today, and you are going to help."

_Damn it… I can't run. I guess I'll just have to reason it out. One way or another, I'm making an enemy here. I need to choose the right one… er… I need some time to think._

"Look… I understand you are at odds about the changing of the season. So… umm… how about each party states their case and I'll say what I think is best. Third party opinion and all that. Ok?"

The four girls stare at each other, then at me.

"Fair enough." Minoriko says.

"Fair enough." Letty echoes.

I nod. "Ok. You two for winter. Go ahead and tell me your story. You two stay quiet and let the others speak, I want to hear both sides clearly before I say anything."

**They look to your advice now. Choose carefully, as your allegiance will have lasting consequences.**

Letty begins. "I am Letty Whiterock, and this girl next to me is Cirno. I am a snow woman, and Cirno is an ice fairy."

"Hey, the _strongest _fairy, Letty. Way stronger than anyone else here." Cirno adds.

I can hardly believe this is a fairy. The eldest fairies in the mansion were about three feet tall, but Cirno is easily five. She may still be a little short, but she is huge for a fairy. All that magic could be a real threat.

Letty goes on. "You see, a strange breeze has come over Gensokyo. Icy rain and snow falls, and the temperature has been dropping each day. I see it as a sign for an early winter. By all right, me and my friend should be able to enjoy our early gift, but these two goddesses have been using their power to suppress the season, claiming it to still be autumn. I can only walk in the cold, so it is not right that I should be oppressed by these greedy deities. Winter has come, and I claim it as my territory. I am the only snow woman in Gensokyo, so I should have a say as to when winter comes and goes, not these two."

"Yeah!" Cirno cheers. "Besides, winter is great! All that fun snow and slippery ice. Plus it keeps the lesser youkai down, so it'll be more peaceful."

_A self-righteous snow woman and a cocky ice fairy. These two could make me real miserable if I don't agree with them. They have a sound logic… but let's hear the other two._

I nod. "Ok. And what about you two?"

Shizuha composes herself and speaks as calmly as she can. "I am Shizuha Aki, and this is my little sister, Minoriko Aki. We're the goddesses of the autumn leaves and the autumn harvest."

**Petty lesser gods. Any fool with a following could call themselves a god these days. You would tremble if you knew my power. You are infants before my endless suffering!**

_Calm down up there, I'm trying to hear._

She goes on. "Autumn is an important season for us. Humans pray to us for a bountiful harvest and a beautiful turning of the leaves. But, this mysterious weather is ruining it. We've been directing our power against it to push back the cold, but these two _idiots _are making a mess with their snow and ice. Autumn is our big time of the year, and it only comes once. These two don't have any place to say otherwise."

Minoriko steps up to add her point. "We have our followers to honor. If we turn the season only one month through, we will betray them and lose faith. More importantly, the harvest will fail, and the humans will starve. We cannot hand over the season to these two."

_That makes sense too… I definitely don't want more gods to contend with either.  
_

I nod. "Hm. Now… er… give me a sec."

I think deep about my decision. _Grrr… this is really bad! No one is wrong. I could tell Letty and Cirno to back off, but these two could make serious opponents, and I bet Cirno has plenty of friends too. I could tell the goddesses to surrender, but invoking the anger of a god could cause all sorts of hell for me. Maybe the goddesses are a little selfish, but autumn is important. Maybe Letty does deserve some say, but putting Gensokyo in a deep freeze for her own sake is selfish too. The humans need the harvest, but we could all use a break from the troublesome youkai. Snow may be fun, but a few months of mild weather beats slipping and sliding on ice.  
_

"So, what is it?" Shizuha impatiently asks.

"Yeah. Hurry up and decide already" Cirno adds.

_I don't know…_

Minoriko steps a little closer. "I do not forget favors. Choose autumn, and my powers of the harvest will ensure nature is a boon wherever you go."

Letty takes a step forward too. "Minoriko you sly little… Fine. I can bribe too. Choose winter and I will see to it that snow falls hard on your enemies whenever a storm blows. Easy."

"I can guide you with autumn's leaves. I'll show you all of the safest paths. You will never lose your way." Shizuha adds.

"Who needs leaves? I know all the fairies in the forest. Choose us and I'll put in a good word. It's the opportunity of a lifetime buddy." Cirno adds on as well.

_I don't know! I don't know, I don't know! Fuck, why can't someone else do this?_

Letty steps uncomfortably close. "Or perhaps you would rather me be your enemy? I only come around during the cold, but I can make you miserable with my snowfall."

Shizuha advances as well. "You won't outdo me! My leaves will leave you blind and mad if you refuse us!"

"Ya know that thing I said about putting in a good word? I can do the opposite too. Have you heard of the Three Fairies of Light? You don't want to make them mad, trust me." Cirno says as she closes in.

"Deny me, and I will see famine and plague stalk your every step. Don't be a fool, choose us." Minoriko warns.

I take a nervous step back, but everyone moves closer with me.

_Gah… what do I do?_

"Well?"

"Well?"

"Make up your mind!"

"Hurry up!"

**The mood grows ever darker servant. Decide now, or they will all be your enemies.**

_Gaaaah! Ok! Enough!_

"Stop! Everyone back up! I said back!" I say while retreating myself.

They give me some space, allowing me to talk. "Ok… fine… You all have good points, but since I can't stay neutral forever, then I suppose I have to make a decision. Here's what I think…"

I take a deep breath. _Calm down. It's just one little argument. Don't be intimidated, and be honest with them. I've dealt with enemies before, I can handle this. Now…_

I take a second deep breath. Two parties are depending on me, and I'm going to have to let someone down. Both have their merits and consequences, and I've made my choice. I'm just going to have to stand firm and take it as best I can.

_Ok. Five… four… three… two… one…_

I take one last deep breath and open my mouth, and I give my answer.

* * *

A/N

Thank you for reading my latest chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.

I kind of broke one of my little rules with this story here. I usually shoot to make each chapter a unique event that has at least some conclusion to it. I promised that I wouldn't make cliffhanger chapters, but I still wanted to try it at least once. Even if this is the only time in the entire story I use this device, I just wanted to see how well I could use it. I tried to make it more intense by making the scenario completely neutral, adding consequences to both sides.

I also had a lot of fun with the four personalities. I interpret Shizuha as loud and aggressive as opposed to quiet or depressed as is most likely canon. In Mountain of Faith, Minoriko seems a more composed and calm foil to Shizuha to me mostly because she doesn't shoot at the player from the get go. I find some of Letty's dialogue in some Touhou works to be childish or arrogant, so I took that up a notch and made her a cold and self-righteous spirit. With Cirno, I wanted to avoid using too many jokes with her, as I still wanted a serious character from her. Someone who says they are the strongest just comes off to me as a loud tough-talker anyways.

Thank you again for reading. I hope to have the next chapter ready soon, and put this cliffhanger down.


	28. Friends With Benifits

I hesitate for just a moment.

One last hesitation before I speak. I hoped that some other person would come to interrupt me, or that my brain might formulate some new plan. I even hoped that Arcane would spit out some snide remark that would change things around.

But there isn't. I have to make a choice now. I only hope I'm doing the right thing…

I look at the two parties one last time before I start.

_Here we go… I hope I'm not making a mistake here…_

"Ok. Here's what I think. Minoriko and Shizuha have some really good points. Autumn is important for the human's harvest, and unlike you two, they have their faith to uphold. There is a lot at stake for them. As gods of autumn, I don't think they were wrong in trying to defend their territory." I try to speak as calmly and politely as possible.

Shizuha smiles and gives a firm nod. "Hm! Your right. Absolutely right. See Letty, even this completely ordinary youkai man agrees with us. You lose. Goodbye. See you next season."

Letty glares at me. "You little…"

"Wait. I'm not done yet…" I add.

Shizuha's grin fades and Letty backs off.

"What do you mean you're not done?" Shizuha says in an intimidating tone.

"Shizuha…" I reply. "You and your sister said you were directing your powers against the weather to stop the cold. If that's the case, why is it still sleeting?"

She goes wide eyed for a second, followed by a furious piercing stare. "Are you insulting me? I already told you, it's these two. She's a snow woman, she's an ice fairy. It doesn't get any simpler."

"I doubt that."

"What? How rude! Questioning my power like that. " Shizuha huffs.

Minoriko puts a hand on her sister's shoulder to calm her before talking back to me. "I will admit, this weather has been a difficult adversary. But I'm sure if we keep trying…"

"I doubt that" I say again. "This isn't a blizzard we are looking at right here. Hell, this isn't even snow, and before today it was just cold. So you mean to tell me that you can't even stop some cold air? If you can't stop the cold, what makes you think you can stop this?"

Letty starts to smile as she begins to realize the point I'm trying to make. "Oh, why the answer is simple. They can't. Their power lies with the trees and the soil, not the sky. It's a round peg in a square hole. If they could have changed the weather they would have already done so."

Shizuha snaps at me. "Look… whoever you are… I don't like the tone of your voice. You're being really evasive here and it's ticking me off. Just spit it out already!"

_Alright… she asked for it straight up, so I'll just give it to her straight up._

"Knight. Just Knight for the name. As for the season thing… I think you need to stand down." I firmly state.

There is a moment of silence before…

"WHAT?" Shizuha explodes.

Minoriko takes a step back. "You really… think that?"

"Hahaha! Take that! That's what you get for being all high and mighty." Cirno taunts.

Letty chuckles a little. "And there you have it. Even this ordinary individual thinks that you are overstepping your boundaries as goddesses. It was only a matter of time before someone came to pop that little bubble you two live in."

I ignore them all and continue. "While I think you were right in trying to save your season, it's a losing battle at this point. I think it's time for winter, and that Letty should be the one to lead it. I don't see any valid reason why she shouldn't."

"But we represent winter's neighbor! We should have a say in who gets to be winter's icon!" Shizuha says in her defense.

I shake my head no. "You said a while ago that if Letty was a goddess then changing of the season is something you would have to agree upon. However, if there is no representative, then there is no one to agree with. How long has winter not had someone? What about summer? How do I know you aren't abusing your powers?"

"Tch. Even I can tell you that. It's no secret that summer has been getting shorter and shorter. Letty is the only thing holding them back from doing the same to winter. Of course they won't let her rule over winter." Cirno answers.

Shizuha growls in anger. Minoriko is silent, but I can tell she isn't taking this to well either.

"I know that this means having to tone down some of the autumn, but sometimes that happens. Nature is a balance, not a power. You need to be balanced out." I finish.

"But this isn't natural!" Shizuha shouts. "Magic is causing this. You can tell can't you? This is wrong! It shouldn't count!"

I feel a little guilty, as the magic anomalies might be due to me and Arcane being here.

Still, I stand firm. "Yeah, it's weird… but not unexpected. It's been trending to this for weeks now. You can't say you didn't see it coming. You could have prepared yourself. You could have done something instead of trying to fight it. You let pride get the better of you, and now you have to pay the price."

Minoriko steps forward. "What about our followers? What about the humans? What will say to them?"

Who would a god ask for forgiveness? I can't even begin to imagine the humiliation of a goddess apologizing to her followers.

Still, I have to stay firm if I want to make my point. "Same scenario. You could have seen this coming if you paid attention. If you could do half the things you said you would do for me than you could have done something for them. You could have at least warned them. You haven't even done that have you?"

She has no answer.

"It's our right!" Shizuha declares.

"You only abuse it. You need to stop."

"We can't forsake our followers!" Minoriko cries.

"You betrayed them already. You have no one to blame but yourselves."

The two autumn goddesses fall silent.

_There. I said it… oh man, I'm such an idiot. I can't believe I just told off a living breathing real-life goddess! There's no telling what's in store for me now._

**Calm yourself. I was actually impressed. I did not think you were capable of such sophisticated reasoning. Perhaps that skull of yours might actually be worth something.**

Letty steps towards the goddesses. "Now then, time to go home children. It's going to be a long winter, and you don't want to be here when the storm hits."

"No…" Minoriko quietly replies.

Letty stops. "Hm? Now now, that's no way to-"

"ENOUGH!"

Minoriko and Shizuha shout simultaneously. A tremendous shockwave sends the three of us back a few steps.

When I look up at them, I feel a terrible energy coming off them. Pure wrath. The anger of a god. It's a feeling I know all too well.

Minoriko crosses her arms. "We have had enough of your accusations. We are divine beings. We don't have to listen to mortals like you."

Shizuha clenches her fist in anger. "You… Knight… You think you're so smart huh? I can do a little reasoning too. What the chances are a lone adventurer would be out on a day like this? Oh, and let's not forget how _Letty _was the one who saw you, and how _Cirno _was the one who suggested the idea. Letty would do anything to reduce our power, and we all know that Cirno isn't that smart. Your little charade almost had me convinced, but you can't hide your true nature. You belong to those two don't you? You're just a trick to get us to give up our power! Well it won't work!"

_Shit… they didn't take that well._

**You have dealt justice as you see fit, now it is time to enforce your ruling.**

I try to control the situation. "Now calm down for just a minute and-"

"Silence! You are a liar and a fiend. We should never have trusted you." The harvest goddess speaks with a seething anger.

Shizuha follows up. "All of you autumn hating people are scum! Why can't you leave us alone? Autumn is ours!"

Minoriko begins to channel magic into the air around her. "I am not known to be violent… but I will defend our honor!"

A flow of fire red leaves appears around Shizuha. "If you will not respect us then we will make you respect us!"

_Grrr… I tried to be reasonable. Why won't they listen? Why does everyone always have to resort to violence? Damn it all! _I feel anger start to swell up inside me as the situation spirals out of control.

Cirno and Letty both ready their danmaku as well. Everyone starts to back away to give range for the inevitable danmaku duel.

"Hmph. Little brats… In the end, it boils down to a fight. Well I'm fine with that. Because when I win, winter will be mine." Letty says.

"I'm gonna freeze all that hot air in your heads. Get ready!" Cirno threatens.

_I'm probably a target too. Fine then… If they want force, I'll give them force!_

I summon Fiend into my hands and speak a final warning. "Honor your agreement or I will attack you!"

Shizuha draws a spell card. "Never! Prepare to die Knight!"

The other three magic users draw their own spell cards.

_This is going to be one hell of a clash. I guess I'll throw my own magic attack into the mix._

Then, all at once, everyone fires off their attacks.

"Leaf Sign: Falling Leaves of Madness!"

Plenty Sign "Owotoshi Harvester!"

"Winter Sign: Flower Wither Away!"

"Freeze Sign: Perfect Freeze!"

I take a step forward to bring my spell into range. "Harrowing Blizzard!"

The clash of power is tremendous. Enchanted leaves and slicing lasers meet frozen petals and balls of freezing energy. Shots are flying back and forth and in all directions.

Everyone is hit. Cirno staggers about as a laser slices at her barrier. Letty is stunned by a wave leaves that also cuts away at her. Minoriko stumbles away as a pair of ice orbs break on her. Shizuha shields her face as frozen leaves stab and chip away at her; also painfully cold.

My magic is not like theirs however. Their danmaku is weak. My icy blast easily devours their attacks before hitting them hard, leaving me safe, and them stunned.

Everyone else is in shock from the initial clash, but I still have a steady stance. Armed with my sword, I charge at Minoriko, who is the closest to me. I catch her off guard and deal three quick slashes.

"Mmmph!" She reels backwards, where she is caught by her sister. Cirno immediately follows up with a laser of ice. A beam of cold engulfs them both, destroying both their spell cards.

"Haha! Two for one!" Cirno laughs.

Letty flies up and over them and rains danmaku straight down onto them, pelting the two goddesses from above.

Shizuha aims upwards to stop her with a burst of leaf danmaku. I switch to Deceiver and interrupt her with a quick gunshot, throwing off her aim.

Letty safely lands behind the two of them. Cirno moves a little ways off to the side, forming the three of us into a tight triangle that surrounds the two goddesses. I switch to Nightmare to extend my reach. Cirno holds ice balls in each hand, and Letty maintains a whirlwind of snow and frozen pedals around her. Together, the three of us have them completely trapped as we wait for them to make the first move.

The two goddesses go back to back. Minoriko whispers to her sister. "Shizuha… we're surrounded. What should we do?"

She growls in frustration. "Grr… if it wasn't for that traveler we would have this battle won already… this is all his fault."

"You can blame me all you want Shizuha, but you're the one at fault now. Surrender and I promise to let this outburst go." I say back to her.

"No way! I won't!" She says back to me.

"Shizuha, Minoriko, this is insane! This outburst ridiculous! Fighting all of us is just suicide! Just give up!" I angrily say to them

"Shut up! I'll never surrender to you!" Shizuha shouts back.

Minoriko speaks in a low tone. "Sister, I hate to say it but… I think we should."

"Huh? What are you saying?" Shizuha demands.

"This man… when I felt his blow… when I hear his anger… I feel something in him. Some terrible dark power. I don't think we should cross this man. He isn't natural." Minoriko explains in a low whisper.

**Hm...  
**

I walk a little closer to the goddesses. "Listen to your sister Shizuha. I don't want to hurt you, but I can if I have to."

She looks down for a second as she struggles with the thought. "Mmph… Nnngh…"

"Shizuha…" I repeat.

"Grr… F… F-fine."

She the glares straight at me. "I… give up. You three win. Let us go."

Both Minoriko and Shizuha lower their aim. I lower my scythe and step aside so they can escape.

"Get out of here." I say to the two goddesses.

They float past me. Shizuha glares at me as she passes by. Minoriko does not even acknowledge me.

Once past me, they turn around.

"This isn't over. We'll be back. I curse your name Knight. The autumn leaves will be your bane." Shizuha says to me.

"Knight… I will remember you for this. I curse your name forever. The earth will give you no favors." Minoriko says as well.

No sooner than they say that do I feel something come over me. My heart lurches in my chest as their directed rage hits me. I know without a doubt that they will make good on their promise to punish me for turning them down.

Shizuha turns away. "Come on sis. Let's go… we need… we need to figure out how to explain this…"

"Let's get a drink at the human village. We can talk this over there…" Minoriko sadly replies.

I let the two of them leave. They slowly drift down the road and disappear as they travel towards the human village. Soon, I am alone, and all is silent save for the falling sleet.

Or at least I think I am for a moment. I was so focused on the goddesses that I forgot about Letty and Cirno, who have been watching me the whole time.

Letty slowly smiles. "Finally. It's about time someone humbled those two. They got exactly what they deserved. Thanks for the help."

Cirno erupts into a loud cheer, flying up into the air and spewing ice powder like confetti. "Yeah! Woohooo! We won! You hear that Gensokyo? Winter is coming early this year!"

Letty stretches and soaks in the atmosphere. "Ah! This winter, I can already feel it coming. And now, I own it all. Letty Whiterock, Herald of Winter… no no, Icon of Winter. Wait, I know. Letty Whiterock, Ruler of Winter. There we go. Hehe… this is going to be great!"

I relax and dismiss my weapon. _There… These two have winter from now on, and it's going to be an early winter this year. I let these two take control, and got myself cursed by two goddesses. Man… I hope I didn't make a mistake._

**Does it matter? You are no closer to your goal. Either scenario would have been a waste of time.**

Cirno zooms down towards me and throws her arm around my shoulder in a freezing hug. "Hey, why the frown buddy? You did the right thing here. You shut up those greedy goddesses and gave back our winter. This is a time for celebration!"

I sigh and gently push her off. "Yeah yeah. Good stuff."

Cirno pouts. "Aww. You're so lame. Cheer up already!"

Letty walks towards me. "Knight, thank you again. This means a lot to me."

I nod. "Sure thing."

Cirno jumps back onto my shoulder in another hug. "Hey, how about that favor I mentioned? I can show you around the forest and introduce you to some of my buddies. I need to show you who the Three Fairies of Light are. Those girls are a real riot I tell ya!"

I push her off me again. "Some other time. I wasn't lying about being busy. I have a lot of running around to do in Youkai Mountain. I'll definitely keep that in mind though."

Cirno sighs as I push her away. "So lame… fine. What are you doing over there though? The only people who live in the mountain are those weird tengu and those stupid mountain goddesses, those two included."

"Well…" _I guess there's no harm in telling them where I'm going. _"I'm going underground first. Then, I have to go to the top. It's part of a little errand I'm running for the Scarlet Devil Mansion."

Cirno blinks. "Eh? You're going to the underground and the top? Both of them? I don't envy you buddy."

Letty speaks up next. "That is certainly a long journey… I'm sorry for taking up your time with all of that arguing."

I just wave it off. "Don't worry, it's fine. But I do need to get going though."

"Fair enough. Let us depart then." She says.

_Wait, us?_

Letty chuckles a little. "Oh, sorry. I suppose I should ask first. I have plenty of time and cold weather to spare now. I wouldn't mind accompanying you to the mountain if you will let me. I have all of Gensokyo that needs my winter now, so I can follow you wherever."

Cirno jumps in on Letty's plan. "Yeah! Let's adventure together! I can bring some friends along. It'll be a real adventuring party!"

_Well, I wasn't expecting that. What should I do?_

**These two will be a hindrance. Dismiss them and leave.**

_Hmm… no. I don't think so. If I'm going to be making enemies then I need to try and make friends too, or else I'm going to have to fight all alone. I think I can manage a small expedition group._

**Foolish servant. Nothing good will come of this.**

I disregard him and accept their offer. "You know what? I think that's not a bad idea. If you want to come along than come along. I could use a few friends."

"Woohoo!"

"Good, then it's settled. We travel together."

I don't know how they are going to affect me and my journey, but it beats traveling alone… even if they are a little making things colder.

_Three people… I should lay out a few rules if I want this to go smoothly._

I stop them for a second. "Ok, hold on for just a moment. I want to lay out a few rules here. If we are going to be working together, then we do things my way. I don't want anyone picking fights or causing trouble; I get enough of those as it is. Next, if you want to go with me, then you _follow _me, ok? I don't want to go looking for you if you wander off. Lastly… I don't want anyone to get hurt out here. I'm going to some dangerous places, so I want you two to always be on the defensive first. Deal?"

The both look a little irritated.

"Do you want us to sign a contract Knight?" Cirno sarcastically says.

I shake my head no. "I don't want anyone to feel indebted to me here. If at any point you feel like you don't want to go on, then you can just hop off and go on your way. I won't feel bad if you do, so don't worry about that. No contracts or obligations."

Cirno groans. "I was _kidding!_ Take a joke!"

Letty walks up to me and puts a hand on my shoulder. "Knight, you need to learn to lighten up. Now come on, we have a ways to go, and all winter to do it."

She walks past me and towards the forest. Cirno then zooms up to me. "Come on buddy, let's go have some fun."

She moves past me as well. Letty and Cirno walk off towards the forest, leaving me behind.

_Wha? Hold on now!_

I walk after them "Hey, I wasn't kidding about those rules."

"We know." They simultaneously say, halfway ignoring me.

I slow down a bit. I can feel a headache.

"This is going to be a long journey." I mutter.

**They mean nothing to me. All that matters is that you continue.**

I shake my head and press on to catch up with my new allies.

I've only just started, and I've already made some enemies. But I've also made some friends. I don't know how traveling companions will affect my journey, or what kind of trouble I will get into now, but I don't care. It's a long journey, but it won't be a lonely one anymore.

I catch up with the two of them. A proud snow woman, an energetic fairy, and a determined golem traveling together. We're quite a unique group.

Together, the three of us begin the journey through the mysterious Forest of Magic.

* * *

A/N

Thank you for reading my latest chapter.

I came up with the idea to have Knight with an ally for this part because I thought it would make the coming events a little more interesting. I went through a couple ideas as for who that would be, finally deciding on Cirno because... well, everything is more interesting with a Cirno. I hope that some of these otherwise normal interactions would be a bit more unique with Cirno around. I don't know how long I will let this last, but I want to experiment with it at least a little.

I also am really fond of attaching Letty to Cirno. I wanted to add her along as well as a chance for me to try expanding on a secondary character, and because I just like her character design. I knew at some point I wanted to have her in the story and when I came up with the idea to have Cirno as Knight's temporary ally, I knew I just had to introduce her as well. With those two together, I thought it natural to go with the quarreling seasons event to bring them both in and give them a realistic reason to want to follow Knight around for helping them.

Anyways. Thanks for reading my latest chapter. I hope to have the next chapter soon.


	29. Forest of Magic

This place is… strange… intoxicating even…

Me, Cirno, and Letty walk through the Forest of Magic. It is dark here, but dim rays of light filter through the leaves and help guide my way… assuming I still know where I am going.

The forest is a strange and abnormal place. The bark of the numerous forest trees are dark swirled with streaks of gray. The leaves are a deep blue color, causing the faint sunlight to become blue as it passes through them. Root-like plants and large colorful mushrooms grow in various places, giving to the foreign fantasy world appearance.

But it's not the appearance of this place that is getting to me here. It's the air. It's the magic.

I have been warned by Patchouli, Meiling, and Remilia that this place does things to people. The enchanted air here has a very strong effect on untrained minds. This energy has turned the air into a toxic miasma. It's like a powerful drug, distorting thoughts and blurring judgment.

This place is one big magical anomaly. It's a place where strangest things are born, like fairies. It's a place where the most insane youkai come to find peace. It's one of the most dangerous places in all of Gensokyo.

And I still am not even halfway through it…

I slowly walk behind my two allies. I'm trying to stay focused, keeping my eyes on the towering mountain in the distance. Just keeping my mind on that is enough of a challenge for me right now. I've given up on looking for Marisa already, as I don't think I'm going to last that long out here. My allies sure didn't.

Ahead of me, Letty and Cirno whisper jokes to each other. They have already succumbed to the forest miasma. Perhaps they have willingly done so, as they are having a good time right now. They are in unusually light spirits, laughing and teasing one another and sometimes slowing down to poke at me as well. It's like they're drunk on the atmosphere. Maybe this is what Cirno meant by going to have fun in the forest.

All the while, they have taken to delivering winter as best they can. Letty occasionally sends out a burst of cold air, gracing the forest foliage with glittering frost. Cirno is recklessly freezing random things with small concentrated ice beams, creating scattered ice surfaces. To me, it seems like they aren't making much progress, but the punishing sleet has become a gentle angelic snow, and the temperature has been dropping rapidly. Perhaps a simple declaration is really all that is needed for a season to change in Gensokyo.

I continue to think on that last train of thought. _Hmm… in a world of magic do words really have power? Perhaps there is some merit to loudly declaring spells after all. Perhaps I should try being a little more enthusiastic during fights. I wonder if-_

**…**

A sigh of agitation occurs from Arcane. He has been keeping a close watch on me know. The dark god is the only thing keeping me anchored to this world. When the miasma begins to take over, his presence chases away the dreamy feelings I have, and returns my concentration; like he just did.

_Right… focusing._

I look up through the trees once again. The mountain is still terribly far away. This journey is dragging on and on, and it's only been half an hour.

Suddenly another burst of laughter erupts from Cirno. "Kkk…hehe…Kyahahaha!"

"Hehehe. Oh Cirno…" Letty giggles along with her.

_Well… at least those two are having a good time._

I quicken my walk to see what they are laughing at. It takes me only a second to catch up with them.

I stand right behind them and peer over Cirno's shoulder to see what she is doing. Using a fine beam, Cirno once again etches her name onto a large tree. I sigh and take a step back.

_What is so damn funny about that? I swear the forest is full of laughing gas or something. These two have been laughing at everything. _I think to myself.

But then… I notice something odd. As I look past Cirno's ice graffiti to the area up a head, I see a clearing. In the middle of the clearing is an unusual looking tree. The air ahead is clear, and the lighting is normal for a cloudy winter day.

I tap Cirno and point ahead. "Hey, what's that over there?"

Cirno is very familiar with the forest's layout, and instantly replies. "Oh, look what we found. It's the fairy shrine. Come on, I'll show you! Your just gonna love this place Knight!"

"Oh yeah, you never did show me this Cirno. Let's go have a look!" Letty says sounding just a bit too cheery compared to her usual self.

I stop. _Wait… do fairies get shrines?_

**Of course not.**

Cirno suddenly grabs my hand and starts to pull me forward. "Hey hey hey! Why ya standing around? Come on, this way! I'll show you our shrine! We just rebuilt it too."

I barely keep up with Cirno and Letty as I am pulled towards the clearing. "Hey now, easy. No need to… w… what the hell is that?"

As I walk up to the clearing, I am surprised at what I find. More than surprised, I'm completely shocked. The tree in the middle of the clearing is no tree. I immediately recognize it, and am surprised that such a thing is here. I did not expect to ever see one of these again.

"Is that a… radio tower?" I whisper in awe.

In front of me is an ancient radio tower. Steel shafts cross into each other to form a lattice that reaches several stories high. On top is a pair of radio dishes facing Youkai Mountain and the Scarlet Devil Mansion. The whole thing is covered in dark brown rust patches.

But it is also covered in something else. Thin trees rise up and spiral around the tower, merging with the tip of the tower at the top. Branches intertwine with the steel lattice and leafy canopies jut out in a few different places. One fat branch has a ladder and a walkway attached to it, allowing access to the dish from the ground.

I'm completely taken aback. _It's a radio tower… what is this doing here? This is from the outside isn't it? How did it get here? Did it get moved?_

**Things that are forgotten lose their ties to reality. These forgotten things or places drift through unknown space between realities until they are found again. This tower happened to be inconveniently found in the midst of this forest as it passed through this particular unknown space, binding it to reality once more. **Arcane replies to my flurry of questions.

_So…_

There is more I want to ask him about how things like this appear, but Cirno's voice interrupts me.

"Hey everybody!" Cirno calls out.

Immediately, there are a numerous replies.

"Oh hey, Cirno is back!"

"Cirno? Hey, it's been a while."

"Yay! It's Cirno!"

"Hey Cirno. Good to see you."

In my shock, I had not realized how many fairies were here. The clearing is pretty big, and it's full of fairies. Fairies on the ground, in the trees, in the air, flying around the tower… everywhere. There has to be at least a hundred of them.

All at once, fairies of various shapes, wingspans, sizes, and colors fly down and crowd around the three of us. Countless gemstone eyes innocently look up at us as they gather around.

Cirno greets them all. "Hey everyone. How's it going? Me and my friends are just passing through here and I thought I'd introduce you. You already know Letty right?"

A small fairy jumps up. "Yep! You're the winter lady."

Another fairy asks a question. "Hey. You said you were going to fight those nasty Aki sisters…. How did it go? Did you beat them up?"

Letty replies in a normal tone thanks to the clear air. "Not quite. But don't worry little fairy. They won't be bothering me or Cirno for quite a while."

"That's right! We put them in their place! It's going to be an early winter everybody!" Cirno victoriously exclaims.

Everybody cheers. All the fairies are excited for playing in the snow and enjoying seasonal treats. They're just like little kids.

Cirno continues. "Hahaha! That's right everyone! And I owe it all to my buddy here."

As she points to me, the cheering slowly quiets. Excitement shifts to curiosity. All of their eyes are set on me now.

_Um… what should I say?_ "H-hey everyone. You can call me Knight."

"Who's he? He looks kind of scary…" A fairy in the crowd says.

"What? Him? Aw, now way. He just looks tough. He's a good guy on the inside. If it weren't for Knight, we would still be stuck dealing with those two." Cirno reassures.

The fairies clamor about me for a moment. As they do, they slowly begin to agree with Cirno and start to relax.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that Cirno."

A new voice rises up to challenge Cirno's opinion. Me and everyone else look towards the voice.

Sitting on a low hanging tree branch on the fairy's tower is another large fairy about Cirno's size. I don't have to use my devil's sight to tell she is probably pretty strong magic wise; maybe a fairy leader or something. She's dressed in a red in white dress, matched by red hair and a white headdress.

She kicks her feet through the air while she casually continues. "I heard from a sunflower fairy that some mysterious guy is ruthless and unforgiving to fairy kind. She said he was a tall dark haired youkai who wielded alien weapons and powerful magic."

The fairies all look at me for a second. Doubt spreads amongst them, and they slowly begin to back away from me.

Cirno looks at me with shock. "W-what? Knight? Don't tell me you hate fairies. I thought you were friends with us…"

I panic a little. _Uh oh. I'm putting Cirno in bad position as my ally. I need to explain this before something happens._

"She… er…" The fairies look at me with suspicion as I struggle. "Look… it's not like that. It was an accident. We miscommunicated and the fairies thought I insulted them. We got into a fight, and I defeated them. It was purely in self-defense… I'm an outsider. I wasn't familiar with Gensokyo at the time, and I still have trouble to be honest. I never meant any harm."

Everyone seems to calm down at that.

Cirno is about to speak when another voice interrupts. At first, I thought it was Letty, but the pitch is a bit too high. It's another fairy; a particularly calm sounding one.

"I heard some things about him as well. I read an article in the newspaper that said he got in a fight with Wriggle Nightbug. I also saw him once with Rumia one night, right before she disappeared. Don't you know those two Cirno?"

**Another pries on us. Parasites, all of them.**

I turn towards the voice. Another powerful fairy in a blue dress with a star on the skirt sits on a rock near the side of the clearing. She has long black hair that is topped with blue ribbon. She looks at us with a calm, colorless stare.

Cirno once again is shocked by this fact. "Knight? Those are some of my friends! Why did you attack Wriggle? What did you do with Rumia?"

_Crap… let me try this again. _"Wriggle was a mistake. Again, I didn't know any better. I crossed a line I shouldn't have, and she got defensive. I had no choice but to fight her off. Rumia is actually on good terms with me. That night she got sick from the rain and left. I honestly don't know where she is."

**That girl again… it has been a long time since you accidentally damaged her seal. I cannot help but wonder what has happened to her now.**

Arcane's musings go unheard among the fairies. My words seem to calm them down once more.

Cirno laughs a little. "Oh… haha. I see. You didn't tell me you knew Rumia though. Have you ever-"

Another voice, a sleepy sounding one, interrupts. "Wait one more minute. I don't like this Knight guy either. I heard from the newspaper's _editor _that Knight is at odds with Alice Margatroid, and that she showed up just so she could fight him. I don't know about you, but this guy sounds like trouble if Alice is after him."

I turn to face a third doubter. She is another powerful fairy equal to the other two. She is dressed in a monochrome dress; white with black buttons and ribbons. She has a lot of these ribbons on her, including her sleeves, around her neck, and on her white beret. Contrasting that, she has bright golden hair and ruby eyes that stare at me with uncertainty.

Cirno is just a little surprised this time. "Eh? Alice? What does she have against you?"

_Alice… another name I haven't heard in a few weeks…_

"Alice is…" I hesitate. I can't decide what to say.

I sigh when I give up. "Look that really isn't something I want to talk about. It's a personal matter. All I'll say is that we are enemies, and that's all there is to it. That fight has nothing to do with anyone else, so there's no need to worry."

They hesitate to accept the evasive response, but they slowly ease again.

_These fairies sure are easy to manage. Now, who's talking me down like this?_

I look at the three questioning fairies. _Wait… three fairies. They're all pretty powerful for their kind…_

I talk to them while I look between them. "You three must be the Three Fairies of Light. Cirno told me about you. What do you have against me?"

Cirno perks up at that. "Oh yeah! I remember talking about that. Yeah, these are those three."

The three fairies jump down from their spots and walk over to us, wading through the crowd of lesser fairies to get closer.

The three introduce themselves.

"I'm Sunny!" Says the red one.

"I'm Luna!" Says the white one.

"And I'm Star." Says the blue one.

"We're the Three Fairies of Light!" They simultaneously finish.

**Ugh. I loathe these creatures. Why must you stand about? Be done with this accursed place!**

Luna speaks to me. "It's not that we don't like you, but we fairies are just a little suspicious about a guy with a history of violence like yours."

Cirno crosses her arms. "Suspicious? Violent? What do you mean?" Do you have a problem with my friends?"

"We're saying that you're too easy Cirno." Luna replies. "You don't even know this guy. How do you know he isn't a spy for... um… someone? You can't just let him into our shrine."

"Says who?" Cirno demands.

"Says us. We made the place." Sunny states.

"Grrr…"

Sunny laughs back, which only adds to Cirno's frustration.

_Whoa whoa whoa! _"Hey, Cirno! No need to get upset. Let me handle this."

She scoffs. "Tch."

I look to Sunny. "I can understand you being a little uneasy around a guy like me, and I'll admit I'm not the nicest guy sometimes, but I don't mean any harm. I'm just trying to get through like everyone else. I'm just passing through."

Sunny thinks on this before finally nodding. "Well… I guess it's ok if you're just passing by. I can't really blame you being a newcomer and all. But be nice to us in our shrine here. We may just be fairies, but don't forget where you are and who's the strongest around here."

"Me!" Cirno exclaims.

"Ha! In your dreams. Don't forget who won that little war we had." Sunny counters.

Cirno confidently replies. "Yeah, me."

The red fairy takes a step back. "Eh?"

Luna sighs. "Sunny… we lost. Remember?"

"We did?"

"We did." Star confirms.

"Oh. Ok." Sunny mutters to the ground. Cirno laughs aloud at her mistake.

_Oh boy… I think you're right Arcane. I can't stand around here any longer._

I talk to all the fairies. "Hey, it was nice to meet you all. But I've got places to be. We need to get going."

"Ah, wait a sec." Sunny suddenly says. "We have something you might be interested in Knight; since you're here anyways. Something about Alice that might be useful in your own little war with her."

_Something about Alice?_ "Alright… you got my attention there. What is it?"

Sunny smiles. "Ok! You know how Alice has disappeared right? Her home has disappeared too. It seems like she really doesn't want to be found. But expert illusionists like us easily saw through her weak spells! We know where her house is! She's out most of the time, so sneaking in would be easy. Imagine the goldmine of dirt you can sling over your enemy Knight!"

**Perhaps this one is not totally worthless. Servant, I want you to go into this home. I want to see what kind of spells this meddler is bearing against me.**

_Alice's home? I don't know about breaking into someone house…  
_

**Cast aside your reservation. It is your life that is at stake. You may learn a vital secret there.**

_Err… I still feel sick about agreeing to that. No decent person says 'I'm just going to break into this person's home and look at their stuff'… But__ you're right. This girl has way too many secrets to not warrant a visit. And if she really is adamant about killing me, than I shouldn't hesitate to look for something to use against her._  


I nod. "Fine. Show me and I'll check it out to… er… see what I can see."

Sunny wags her finger at me. "Ah ah, hold on just a minute. This isn't free you know. We want something in return."

I blink. "Um… what do you want? I don't have a lot to give… well… I have fifteen hundred yen, would that work?"

Sunny does not seem impressed. I look at Luna and Star, and they aren't either. In fact, even Cirno and Letty are looking at me like I'm an idiot. Some of the crowding fairies are giggling at me.

I sigh. "Sorry. Maybe that isn't worth it. How much do you want then?"

The three think for a moment. Luna is the first to speak up. "Well… money is nice every now and then. But…"

Star continues her sentence. "I don't think that money is worth it. Perhaps…"

Sunny adds on next. "You could take something from the house! You're going into the house of a magician after all. Perhaps you could bring us some magic spells or something fun."

_Steal from Alice? Going in is one thing but I'm not a thief._

**I don't care what you think you are. Just do something to appease these fools so you can get there.**

Star suddenly speaks up again. "Wait! I just remembered. You know how Alice sometimes goes to Makai?"

Letty nods at that. "Yes. I talked with Alice once during that long winter that happened a while ago. As a matter of fact, she's quite close to Shinki."

_That name again… _"Who is that?"

"The supreme goddess and ruler of Makai. She created the demon world with her own power alone. She is perhaps one of the oldest and most powerful beings in the entire world." Letty explains.

**Hm…**

_And she and Alice are against me. Shit. I hope I don't end up against her._

Star nods. "Exactly. Shinki is like royalty right? If Alice is friends with her, then she must get all kinds of nice gifts that we don't normally get to see. Like… "

Sunny suddenly realizes something and begins to grin. "Ooooh! Like sweets! I bet Shinki gives Alice some nice snacks when she visits Makai. I bet she has some things that we've never even heard of before. Ooh, I wonder what a goddess eats. Or maybe Shinki hand makes treats just for Alice; her cooking must be divine! That's a great idea Star. Knight, if you can get a special treat from Makai in Alice's house then we'll take you there."

I almost laugh at that. _Are you kidding me? Just like a storybook fairy to give into the temptation of sweets. If it's just a treat they want, then maybe I can just swipe something from the kitchen that looks interesting and be done with it._

Sunny puts her hands on her hips. "Well what's your answer?"

I agree. "You have a deal. I'll see if I can find something good for you in there. Just one item though. I'm not crazy about stealing, even if they're an enemy."

"Deal."

"Deal."

"Deal." All three agree.

"Alright. Let's go then. You ready Cirno?" I ask.

She nods. "You bet! We'll see you later everyone!"

The fairies begin to depart and scatter back into the air.

"Bye Cirno!

"Goodbye Letty! Come back soon."

"See you later. Tell me how it goes."

A young fairy jumps up and enthusiastically waves goodbye to me. "Good luck mister."

I can't help but smile at such a cute display. I wave back. "Thanks. Goodbye."

We all say goodbye as we pass through the clearing. I look up at the giant radio tower altar as I walk past it. Fairies are already back on its branches playing games and chatting with each other.

_Fairies are strange little creatures. But I got to admit, they can be pretty loveable at times. _I think to myself.

I look away from the tower and up ahead at the other end of the clearing where I am headed. The three fairies and my two allies are already ahead of me.

Luna waves back at me. "Hurry up! We don't want anyone to start following us."

I quicken my pace and catch up to them just as we exit the clearing and enter the shadows of the forest once more. As I near them, Sunny suddenly grabs me by the arm and pulls me along with her.

"Come on, come on! This way. Hurry up Knight!"

I struggle to keep up with the fairy's speedy flying. "W-whoa! Hey, you're dragging me!"

She lets go of my arm. "Then hurry up!"

The three fairies zoom forward. Cirno flies just as fast. Letty also hovers after them. Without any means of flight, I break into a run to keep up with them.

I slowly start to fall behind. "Hey! Wait up! Why the rush?"

They all slow down. As if to taunt me, Cirno starts to fly backwards.

"Geez Knight. You are so slow!" She says with a laugh.

Suddenly Letty falls back and floats behind me. "Come on, you can move faster can't you? How about a little motivation?"

Letty holds a hand forward, now covered in glittering ice magic. She leans forward a little and drags a finger down my back. I shudder as pure cold runs down my spine.

"Gah! Ouch!" I cry out.

"I'm gonna get you!" Letty teases, already wasted on the forest's miasma once again.

She pokes me with her icy hand again. I sprint to get away from her stinging touch, but she remains just right behind me.

Everyone giggles at my struggle.

"There we go! Just like that. Keep it up Letty! It won't be too long at this speed." Sunny says with another giggle.

"Right! Come on Knight, let's go up another level." Letty says as she starts to move faster.

I pour all my strength and concentration into my running so I can get away from her. _Come on! __Give me a break!_

The six of us move swiftly through the forest towards its edge. We head towards the Great Youkai Forest near the base of Youkai Mountain. Somewhere near the edge of the Forest of Magic and the Great Youkai Forest if Alice's house; apparently unguarded. I can't help but wonder what secrets I'll find in there.

Another icy tap on the shoulder from Letty stings me.

"You're falling behind again. Keep up or I'll get you!" Letty says.

I frantically flee from the pursing snow youkai. Cirno somehow finds the time to continue to freeze things in her haste. Sunny, Star, and Luna lead the way, occasionally looking back to laugh at my plight. It's one crazy party all right.

Together, we all head towards Alice's house, searching for whatever dark secrets the magician has brought against me.

* * *

A/N

Thank you for reading my latest chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.

Well, I finally got to the forest. I've been thinking about how I'm going to play this part out for a while. About 1 month and 100000 words later, I finally get here. I'm really happy that the story turned out ok. As new writer, I get incredibly nervous. When I started I was afraid I wasn't going to be any good; that my new story would loose interest, or that it would just fall flat.

A special thanks to everyone who has been reviewing, faving, and following me. All of you are a huge morale boost for me, and encourage me to keep writing in spite of my doubts.

Also, for those of you who may have missed the reference. In one of the Touhou manga stories, a radio tower appears in the forest and the Three Fairies of Light turn it into a shrine for the fairies after Reimu decides to not destroy it. I thought it would be an interesting place to have Knight pass by, and would be a unique landmark where I could stop all of the characters and introduce the three fairies for this next part. As my knowledge of the Touhou manga is extremely sketchy, I don't intend to make many manga references. Still, I thought this added to the crazy and bizarre atmosphere of the forest.

Anyways, I'm letting my notes get too long now.

Thank you again. I hope to have the next chapter ready soon.


	30. Tricks and Traps

It feels like a half-hour before Letty stops chasing me.

All of the sudden, she moves out from behind me and flies off ahead. Cirno and the Three Fairies of Light are already far ahead. They've all stopped and are looking at something, but I can't see what.

I continue running forward to catch up with them. As I approach, I can see Letty and Cirno standing behind Sunny, Luna, and Star as the three fairies eagerly look around an apparently invisible object. There doesn't seem anything special about these two trees. I do notice that the miasma here is gone, and that the trees ahead change as they merge with the next forest. But I see nothing in this particular spot.

"What's up? Is this the place?" I ask.

Sunny turns to me and nods. "Yep. Star, do you sense Alice?"

The blue fairy shakes her head no. "It's just us for some distance."

"Good. Let's do this. Stand back you three." Sunny says with a wave to me and my allies.

I stand next to Cirno and Letty a few yards away from the other fairies. The three line up next to each other and begin to work some magic.

The three direct their magic to the two adjacent trees. They glow brightly, each sending out a ghostly silver beam at the trees. The beams fly forward, but stop just short of the trees.

_Hm? Something is there after all._

They channel energy into the invisible wall. Slowly, the outline of a building appears. Following the outline is colors, then textures, and finally a real building. Alice's house materializes where the two trees were. It's a large tower-like house that looks two stories tall.

_There it is…  
_

**Hm…**

I'm impressed that these three were able to find it. There was zero indication that there was a house hidden here, and you would have to spend hours bumping into trees to find it on accident.

The light around the three fades. All of them look at their work.

Sunny gives a confident nod. "There. Clear as crystal."

Letty quietly claps. "Well done. I'm impressed."

"I-it's nothing special." Cirno hesitantly replies.

Letty places a hand on Cirno's head. "Don't feel bad. You're impressive in your own way."

"Yeah, like how stupid she is. Hehe!"

"Hey! I am not stupid!" Cirno indignantly cries at Star's taunt.

_This fairy is easy to provoke… _I think to myself.

"Hey. Enough of that." I say in hopes of avoiding a confrontation. "Let's all just get along here. Why don't I step inside and see if I can find anything worthwhile for your troubles."

Star speaks up for her and her companions. "Sure thing. I'll keep lookout in case Alice shows up again. Find something good for us! Toys, treats, sake, anything good."

My brain skips a beat on that last one. I pretend I didn't hear that and continue on with toys or treats in mind.

I look to Cirno to see if she is willing to follow. She avoids my gaze. "Um… if you think it's cool, I'm going to wait out here. I don't want to mess with Alice again. That didn't work out so well for me last time."

"I think I'll keep her company. Can you handle this?" Letty says, not wanting to go in either.

_Well, it's just a house. They don't need to know what Alice is doing anyways._

"Sure. I'll be just a minute." I say while turning back to the house.

I walk up to the round tower-like house. There are a few stone steps leading up to an antique wood door. I reach for the handle…

"Wait, Knight! What do you think you are doing?" Letty calls out from behind me.

I turn around, a bit confused. "What?"

Letty sighs. "Knight, you really are clueless sometimes you know? You are breaking into the home of a magician. Don't you think you should be a little more careful? Did you even stop to think that there may be traps on the door?"

_Shit. You're right. Patchouli has magic traps on just about every single book she doesn't want someone to read. If Alice is as talented as her, then I could have just killed myself on this door._

I sheepishly nod. "Er… right. Good call Letty."

My unprofessional approach gets a giggle out of Cirno and the three fairies. I feel a little embarrassed, but I remain quiet and continue again.

I turn back to the door. _I wonder if it is trapped… maybe my eyesight ability will help._

I close my eyes for a moment. After my vision changes, I open them and look at the door. Sure enough, glowing energy is on the door. The magic currents form a circle of runes and strange lettering.

I immediately recognize this spell. _Hey… this looks like one of Patchouli's summoning circles._

**It is a weak trap. Perhaps to summon some haunt to frighten any would-be intruders.**

_Just a summon? Shouldn't be a problem then. Here we go…_

I reach for the door again.

"Knight…" Letty groans at my tactless entry.

Thinking it through, I have to admit that this isn't the most ingenious plan. Hitting a trap to get rid of it is kind of stupid. Yet I don't have many other options right now. I ignore Letty and grab the brass handle. The door is surprisingly unlocked, and I throw it open.

As soon as the handle clears the threshold there is a bright flash. The spell becomes visible as it activates. Something materializes in the doorway. A lean and pale figure now stands in front of me. It has… no skin. It's just a cloaked skeletal figure.

I take a few steps back. "What the…"

Everyone behind me jumps as the skeleton rattles and walks forward out of the house.

Cirno's voice trembles as she talks. "W-what the heck i-is that? A skeleton?"

"That's just wrong." Letty says, portraying no fear.

"Eww. That's so creepy! Kill it!" Luna shrieks.

I waste no time in doing so. I summon Fiend and drive the blade into the approaching figure's skull.

As soon as I do, the skeleton stops. It rattles just a bit more before suddenly dissolving into dust.

"It… was a fake?" I ask in confusion.

**As I thought, it was just a horror spell.**

_Whew. A good horror spell at that. A skeleton walking at you is a lot scarier than it sounds!_

I send my weapon away. "Ok… I think that takes care of the door. I'm going in now."

"Uhh… yeah. We're definitely staying out here. Good luck with that place." Cirno says behind me.

I walk up to the house and enter. I close the door behind me as I step into the dim interior.

_Ok… check for any other traps._

I use my devil eyesight to quickly scan the living room I'm in. I find nothing magical in here. Satisfied that nothing will jump out at me, I step into the middle of the room and look around. It's an ordinary living room with a table and chairs, a fireplace, and several other normal things. The room is shaped like a semi-circle. This room takes up half of the circular building, and a door off to the side leads to a kitchen that takes up the other half.

It's a nice place, but I don't see anything related to Alice here.

At the far end of the room I spot a pair of staircases. One leads up, the other leads down.

_I guess she has a basement level too. Let's check there._

**Yes. I sense dark magic below.**

I walk across the room and head down the stairs. I walk down through a narrow stairs hallway before it opens up into a large round room.

_Oh boy… look at this…_

I step off the stairs and slowly walk into the room that has countless staring eyes. The doll room.

I examine some of the dolls and am shocked to find that they are moving. They make slight passive movements that indicate they are alive as they sit on the various shelves. I almost draw a weapon in preparation for an attack. Surely Alice's dolls would be ready to fight me.

But they don't get up. They all sit upright and watch me with their lifelike eyes; making no hostile movements. One of them even waves at me.

_Right… without orders, the dolls can't act. They have no willpower. I guess they aren't going to attack._

I ignore the dolls and look around. There is nothing in this room save for the doll shelves all around and a desk at the opposite end of the room. On the desk is a stack of three books. The doll's eyes follow me as I go to them.

**Yes. There. Tomes of dark magic. Let me see them.**

I follow Arcane's words and approach the desk. I take the stack of books and separate it. The first is a simple solid black book titled 'The Powers of Dark Magic'. The second is a gray book with a white spine simply named 'Light and Dark'. The final is a large red leather notebook held together with claw-like bones titled 'Death and Necromancy'.

_Geez… these are the kind of books Patchouli keeps under lock and key. This looks like some pretty dark stuff._

**Open them. Let me see.**

I rapidly flip through the first book. It seems like a mad cultist's rantings about the wonders of the dark powers at the edge of the universe, and how to seek out and control them. I can read it, but I'm not getting any of it. Magic is weird enough to me, and I don't care to try and make sense of this psycho.

Arcane echoes my own thoughts. **I see nothing worthwhile in here…**

I set the book down and pick up the next one; 'Light and Dark'. I open it, but find I can't read it at all. It seems to be written in symbols.

_Arcane, can you read this?_

**Yes.**

_What does it say? _I think while I continue to flip through the unreadable pages.

**Some nonsense about how natural magic differs from dark magic. The one who wrote this lacks any advanced understanding about how dark magic truly works. This is child's play. Only a novice would use this.**

_Well… I guess the one who invented the stuff would know. We'll just set this aside then._

I place the book down and grab the next one. It sends a chill down my spine as I open it.

**This is the source of the disturbance in here. This book radiates with death.**

I hesitantly open the book. Again, it is written in strange symbols. Whereas the last one was a well written book, this looks like the scribbling's of a madman. Wrinkled brown stains indicate spontaneous blood loss on certain pages when it was written.

_Man… this is some crazy looking stuff. Arcane, what does it say?_

**This writer was a fool. He knew that he could never fully understand dark magic. He knew how to control the raw power it could offer, and how to apply it to his art of necromancy. Yet, he failed to understand the effects it has on the living. Power corrupts, and dark magic offers a great deal of power.**

I continue flipping through the pages. The writing becomes more erratic. Mistakes and bloodstains become more frequent.

Arcane goes on. **The necromancy spells in here are accurate, but far too costly to a mortal. Many of these spells match the caliber of your own. Anyone foolish enough to attempt these would soon rot from corruption.**

_Alice hit me with three necromancer curses that one day… and she started to feel it pretty quick when that wound started to worsen._

**Even as a magician, she could not handle such demanding spells. If she continues down this path, than she will die.**

I stop for a moment. _Wait… why doesn't it affect me then?_

**Because you are not living. You may think you are alive, but your body is just a thing of flesh and spells. You cannot be corrupted.**

_Yeah… that's right. I'm a golem. _I feel a bit of pain in my heart.

I sigh and set the book down. As I do, I notice something else though. On the far right hand of the desk, right next to the book I just placed, are two pictures. I almost missed them because they are turned down, and the back of the frame matches the wood desk. Curious, I turn the pictures upright.

One of them is a full color picture of Marisa and Alice. Marisa has a big smile on her face and an arm slung over Alice's shoulder. Alice has a reserved, almost shy, smile. She looks happy here, as opposed to tired and angry when I met her.

_Alice and Marisa… These books must be why Marisa didn't like Alice when I met her in the shrine. Necromancy is frowned upon in Gensokyo. It's not illegal, as there are no laws, but it makes you an outcast. Alice… you knew what this meant for your friendship. You cast aside your life to stop me…_

I sigh. _In the end… she's right. Arcane resides inside me. Even if I'm trying to do the right thing, it doesn't change the fact that I am still a real threat to this world as a whole. I know I can't just give up, yet… Damn it, I don't know!_

I sigh again, now depressed and confused. The world weighs heavily on my mind. Magic, monsters, and a huge fantasy world… It's just so hard for me to understand at times. I can't help but feel like I'm not cut out for this world. I know I'm stuck here and that I have to deal with Arcane somehow, but it just seems so impossible.

I shake my head. _Come on, focus. One step at a time…_

I regain my cool. I risk a look at the second photo. It's a black and white one. Alice stands next to a tall and mature woman with a young face. Her hair is tied into a long sideways ponytail, and she is dressed in flowing robes. It looks like they're close.

_This must be Shinki. I wonder if she feels the same way as Marisa does about Alice right now. I wonder if I'll even get to see her at all.  
_

**I do not care. This goddess is a bother to me. Now, are you done?  
**

_Oops, you're right. I don't have time to stand around any longer._

I look away from the picture of Shinki and Alice and back to the three books.

_Well… now what? Did you get anything useful from these books? _I mentally ask.

**No.**

_No?_

**No. **He confirms. **These books reveal little to me about the puppeteer's tactics or plans.**

I blink. _So… this was a waste of time?_

**Perhaps. But since these books are of no use to me, I want you to destroy them. Blind this meddler to their knowledge.**

_Huh? Well… I guess so… Yeah, that way Alice won't be able to continue with necromancy or whatever else she can pull out of these books. She doesn't need to keep doing this to herself._

I take the three books and stack them again. I place the stack on the wood floor and summon Fiend.

_Sorry for breaking your stuff, but this is for your own good Alice._

I turn the katana around in my hand and stab straight down through all three books. Almost instantly, there is a hissing of energy. The books are enveloped in a quiet black flame as the twisted spells inside them are released by my blade.

I pull up my sword from the now disintegrating books. _There. Done. Goodbye books._

Suddenly, there is a shout from above.

"Knight! Alice is coming back! Get out of there!"

It is Star's voice. Alice is on her way, and I need to get out if I want to avoid a confrontation.

I curse to myself and hurry out. Some of the dolls blindly wave goodbye as I quickly ascend the stairs and leave the doll room behind.

When I reach the living room I find Star fluttering in the middle of the room.

"Come on, come on! We have to go if we don't want to get caught." She quickly says.

"Right. Sorry I couldn't get you anything in time." I say back to her.

"Don't worry about that! This way, let's go!" She says while flying out the front door.

I quickly run after her and step outside. As soon I do, I hear a scream.

"Knight, NO!"

Cirno warns me too late. I step on a magic trap placed outside the door. I feel a terrible pain through my whole body as a huge spear of lightning shoots out of the ground and zaps me.

Stunned and dazed, I collapse and fall face first into the cold dirt. I don't even have time to say anything before I am on the floor.

I hear a faint rustle of clothes as multiple things gathers around me; small things.

_What just… what is… why did… huh?_

Confused, I slowly pull myself off the ground and look around again. Around me are eight dolls forming a circle. They each have their arms stretched out, and are connected to each other with a thin red beam. I try taking a step over them, but I get pushed back. The dolls are making a force field around me.

_What the hell? Dolls? No… no way!_

I look around the outside of the house. Cirno struggles as a trio of dolls holds her against a tree with their spears. Letty is quietly standing still with a doll holding a sword to her neck.

And near them is Alice and the Three Fairies of Light.

Arcane shrieks and roars. **Curses! You have been betrayed! Accursed fairies! Worms, all of them! Less than maggots! I will burn them for this!**

"What's going on? What happened?" I ask aloud.

Alice slowly walks up to me. "I tricked you. Or rather, they tricked you."

I can hardly believe this. I feel an intense anger well up inside me as I realize Arcane is right. I've been betrayed by those three fairies.

I shout at them. "What do you think you are doing? I thought you were with us! Why did you bring Alice?"

Sunny floats up to me. "Sorry Knight, but we never said whose side we were on. You were an easy target, and an easy reward. Of course we would bring you to Alice first."

Star moves up behind her to taunt me as well. "The truth is Alice was here the whole time. We just had Sunny put a little illusion over her and had Luna silence her so she couldn't be found. Then we acted out a little story and brought you here. You fell for it so hard too. Hehe."

"You guys are so freaking lame!" Cirno angrily screams. "I'll get you back for this!"

Luna floats over to Cirno, staying just out of her reach. "Sorry Cirno. You were just a little teensy tiny bit too stupid. You lose this time."

The three all look to Alice. Sunny begins demanding a reward. "Now, you said you had something for a reward? Come on, let's see it!"

Alice nods. "Of course. Thank you, you three. You did a good deed today."

Sunny shrugs. "Yeah, whatever. Come on already!"

Alice calls over a doll carrying three small bags. The doll passes them out to the three fairies who peer inside it as soon as they get it.

"Oooooh!" Star says as she looks inside her bag. "Look at all of this! Come on girls, let's go try these out!"

"Yeah! Let's get out of here." Sunny says as well.

"You double crossers!" I shout as they fly away and disappear.

It's just me, Cirno, Letty, and Alice now. I've fallen prey to a fairy's mischief, and now am forced to face Alice once again.

"What are you going to do to us you stupid magician." Cirno growls.

She quickly glances at the two girls. "To you? Nothing. You just accidentally got involved in this. As soon as I deal with Knight, I'll let you go. I'll even make it up to you if you want."

"I don't think I want any favors from you right now Alice." Letty coldly states.

She shrugs. "Fine. You don't have to like me for this. But this is for the good of Gensokyo. This man is full of evil. He needs to die."

Cirno struggles even harder. "No way! Knight isn't evil! He helped us! He's our friend! You can't kill him!"

"I'm sorry you don't see things my way Cirno. But even if you don't, I have to do this. I won't lose Gensokyo." Alice says as she turns to me.

"No! Knight!" Cirno cries out.

"Knight… I'm sorry…" Letty whispers.

She raises her hand, and Hourai appears at her side, ready to run me through with her lance. With this barrier containing me, I will have nowhere to dodge.

I slam against the barrier as hard as I can, but I just get stung and bounce off.

_Damn it all! No good. Is this the end? Am I really about to die from some damn trap?_

**No, I've come too far now! You cannot die yet! I will not fail again!**

Hourai winds up a charge. She couldn't get a cleaner shot of me. Even if I somehow avoid her, I'm still trapped. She can just keep stabbing me until I'm through.

One way or another… I'm going to die.

"Stop this right now Alice!" A warning voice calls out.

Alice spins around and Hourai lowers her spear. We all look to the newcomers.

Or at least, one of them is. I am surprised to find the Three Fairies of Light. Sunny, Star and Luna lead the way for a new arrival.

Marisa Kirisame.

Alice takes a step back. "Marisa?"

The witch dressed in her black and white dress walks towards Alice with her broom slung over her shoulder. She does not look happy to see Alice.

Sunny enthusiastically waves to Alice. "Here she is!"

Marisa nods. "Thanks-ze."

Luna jumps up in front of Marisa. "Hey. You said you had a reward for us right? Come on, where is it?"

"Right. Take it and get on out of here." Marisa hands them three small pouches, rewarding each of the three.

_Reward? No way! They triple crossed for two payouts!_

**…**

Alice clenches her fist. "Why… on… earth… did you bring Marisa here?"

"Sorry Alice, but ever since it hit the newspaper that you were using necromancy openly, Marisa has been looking for you. You were an easy target, and an easy reward. Of course we would bring Marisa to you." Sunny replies with a smile.

Star speaks next. "The truth is Marisa was nearby the whole time. We just had Sunny put a little illusion over her and had Luna silence her so she couldn't be found. Then we acted out a little story and brought you here. You fell for it so hard too. Hehe."

I can't help but laugh.

_Oh wow… haha. Oh, you magnificent bastards. You amazing fairies you! That was a golden move! There's no way Marisa is going to let Alice pull this off now. _I think to myself. I already start to feel some relief.

**Even I must admit that I did not suspect that.**

I wholeheartedly agree. If they've all been acting all the way up to this point, than I would have to say their performance was flawless. In both instances I would not suspect them.

Letty is stunned as well. "I… don't believe it. I never would have imagined…"

Cirno cheers. "Woohoo! That was awesome you guys! Way to turn it around!"

"You DOUBLE CROSSERS!" Alice loudly shrieks.

"Ha. Karma at its best Alice. Karma at its best." I say to the distraught magician.

The three fairies just giggle and zoom away with all of their prizes. It was a genius plan, and it paid big. They are going to be happy for quite a while I'd imagine.

Alice storms after them, but Marisa steps in front of her to stop her.

Marisa takes something from her pocket, a newspaper article, and shoves it right into Alice's face. "So… do you mind telling me what you think you are doing? Do mind telling me why you _lied_ to me?"

Alice pushes her hand away and steps back. "You believe that gossip rag?"

"Sometimes… You've been avoiding me all this time for a reason-da-ze. Judging by what you're doing here, I have to say this is one of those times I do." Marisa says with a frown.

This frustrates Alice. "I… well… Grrr…"

Marisa grabs Alice by the shoulder to stop her from running. "Why are you doing this? Necromancy? Voodoo? Alice are you insane? I got you those books for reference only. Not to use-ze! Do you want to end up banished to the underground like the other magicians who lost control?"

Alice pushes her off again. "It's a desperate measure. I will admit that…"

"Desperate measure?" Marisa angrily exclaims "Alice, this is suicide! You know what this stuff does to people."

"I don't care!" Alice screams back. "I'm a small sacrifice for the sake of Gensokyo."

Marisa groans. "You're _still _going on about that? Alice, that's not-

"It is real!" She points to me. "And it's right there. Right inside him. He's the herald of the dark god Shinki saw! I know it! Marisa, he could ruin all of Gensokyo if we don't stop him."

Marisa looks past Alice towards me. She raises an eyebrow at me, but says nothing.

She talks to Alice instead. "Look Alice. I don't care what you think you is right or wrong. But as your friend, I can't let you do this-ze. I won't stand by and watch as you kill yourself. You may think you're saving the world, but my friends are my world Alice! Please stop; stop this for me Alice."

"I guess you'll never understand." Alice says with a sigh. "I try and try, but you just won't listen. Fine then. As your friend, I won't force you to help me. But I can't stop. I won't let that _thing _over there destroy the world. I won't give up."

Alice gestures with a hand, and Hourai bursts forward and tackles Marisa with the back of her spear. Marisa stumbles back a step, allowing Alice to break free and hover away.

She floats over to me. "I'll be back for you Knight."

With that, she quickly leaves. She and Hourai fly away into the Forest of Magic and disappear into the trees.

"Wait!" Marisa starts to chase after her, but gives up when she realizes she is already long gone.

She looks down and sighs. "That idiot. What is she thinking?"

Me, Letty, and Cirno have been quiet this whole time. After their brief argument I risk a word.

"Marisa… I… sorry it didn't work out."

She looks over at me. At first she seems angry, but she calms down and forces a smile. "I don't know what she sees in you. She sure has a crazy way of expressing her love though."

I go along with the joke to try and cheer her up.

"Yeah. She just can't keep her hands off me." I say while pressing against the magic cage I'm still in.

Her fake smile turns into a real one at that. "Heh. Anyways, let's get you out of there."

She walks over to me and kicks one of the dolls aside. The barrier slowly dissipates. The other seven dolls continue to stand in place anyways. The dolls on Cirno and Letty are still performing their final duty as well.

I walk over to Letty and cast down the sword wielding doll. It makes no effort to retaliate. Letty takes a deep breath in relief.

"Thank you."

There is a noise of flying danmaku as Marisa zaps the dolls pinning Cirno. Once free, Cirno jumps into the air and stretches.

"Fwah! Much better!"

Marisa turns to me. "Sorry you got caught up in that Knight. Alice has been going crazy over some doomsday prophecy she heard. Something about a guy with an evil shadow inside him that will bring suffering to the world. She must have lost it when you, a guy, showed up."

I can't reveal my nature to Marisa after all that's happened, so I just agree. "Yeah. This isn't the first time either. She's really serious about this thing."

She sighs. "Again. Sorry about that. She just isn't herself anymore."

We are all silent for a minute before Marisa speaks up again.

"Well, I'd love to stick around and catch up with you all, but I need to find Alice before she does something stupid again-da-ze. So if you don't mind?"

I step away from her to give her some room. "Go right ahead. Keep her off me for a while if you can."

She grins a little. "I'll see what I can do."

She mounts her broom and gives a friendly wave goodbye before speeding off into the forest.

It's just us three outside the house again.

I rub my forehead. "Damn… that was way too close."

**This magician's tactics are becoming more ruthless. The next time you see her, she will most likely be ready to kill you.**

_Yeah… I'd best be careful. Hopefully Marisa can give her a good chase first._

After a second I look up at Cirno and Letty. They seem to be at a loss.

I just shake my head. "Well. Now you know the extent of that. Again, same rules. You can stop any time you like."

Letty crosses her arms. "I don't think so. I'm not standing for Alice's attitude. The next time I see her I'm going to bury her in snow."

Cirno pumps her fist into the air. "Yeah! Alice is going down next time! Besides, you wouldn't stand a chance on your own out there against her."

_Well, I did fall for her trap. I probably wouldn't last too long on my own out here._

I nod. "Yeah. We'll be ready for her when she comes after me again. Thanks for the support."

I turn around. "Come on. Let's get out of here. I'm done with this place."

They agree. The two winter girls fly up and join me at me, reducing the temperature around me again. I don't mind so much though.

I give one last look to Alice's house of dolls. I'm glad to be out of there. In fact, I'm just glad to be done with this place altogether. The Forest of Magic is behind us now, and I'm certainly not going back there for a while.

But more challenges, other than Alice, surely lie ahead. The Great Youkai Forest ahead is dense, and the road is dark.

I look up at the mountain. The sun is going down, and the mountain is still far off. I've been betrayed, trapped, and almost killed today, and I still haven't done anything yet. I can't help but give an angry sigh.

_We still have a long way to go…_

* * *

A/N

Thank you for reading my latest chapter. Sorry about it took so long. I let time get away from me. I hope the content makes up for it.

I want to create a wide range of motives and personalities in this story. I've already set up that characters can be outright hostile, or relatively friendly. In this one, I want to establish a middle ground archetype, a trickster. The three fairies, being fairies, seemed like a good fit for this. That, and I was considering all of their antics in their Touhou manga, which makes them seem even more mischievous to me. At the same time, I didn't want to risk turning them into an enemy character, so I planned out an ulterior motive for them that would allow them to land a blow against Alice as well as Knight. Plus, I just really wanted to write a scenario like this, and I had a lot of fun doing so.

I also brought Marisa back in for a bit, mostly just to get a few points across about what Alice thinks and how people are reacting to her. At this point in the story, I still haven't written very many characters off as secondary characters yet, so I still have plans to re-introduce and expand upon characters previously mentioned. I hope to keep making interesting interpretations, and not let Knight's struggle eat up all the potential the Touhou world has to offer.

Anyways, thanks for reading. I hope to have the next chapter ready soon.


	31. Dark Road

We leave the house behind, and the Forest of Magic along with it.

The trees slowly change as we enter the next forest. The bizarre blue leaves are now dull brown. The trees are dark ebony color. The mushrooms and roots are replaced with ensnaring bramble and patches of entangling undergrowth. There is little light here, as the broad leaves block the sun completely.

This is a dark and forbidding place. The Great Youkai Forest.

To me, it's just one last obstacle before we reach the mountain.

Me, Cirno, and Letty stick close together as the light begins to fade. The two girls have calmed down. They've stopped trying to freeze things and only make occasional conversation. They seem nervous, but I don't know why.

_Man… I don't like this place._

**People have died here. This place reeks of fear and loss. **Arcane grumbles, neither satisfied nor irritated.

_Fear and loss… _I think for a moment before risking a question.

_Are there any other dark gods like you? That book said there were four; suffering, loss, fear, and chaos. What happened to the rest of them?_

**They are gone. Do not ask any more of it.**

I can't help but feel like he is hiding something, but if I ask again he'll just stop talking to me. So I let it go.

"Knight, watch where you're going." Letty says to me, just a moment too late.

I walk into a patch of low lying thorny roots that I didn't see in the dark. The roots poke at my coat and hook onto my legs. I get completely ensnared and almost trip.

"Whoa. Gah, damn it. Hold on, I'm caught here." I say as I try and step back from the roots. My allies sigh and wait for me.

The roots refuse to let go. I try prying them away, but they are pretty stiff. I may need to cut them to get free.

Cirno eventually floats over to me and grabs one of the roots. An icy sheath grows over the roots, causing them to die and weaken. After they die, I easily snap the roots and free myself.

This is the second time this has happened to me. The first time was just as bad.

"It's like the forest is attacking me." I grumble.

"It's those stupid autumn gods." Cirno says. "This forest is near their territory. And after you scolded them, they're probably punishing you or something."

_Great._ "You have no idea how lucky you are to be able to fly."

Both Letty and Cirno are floating above the ground right now, avoiding all the undergrowth.

"Can you not fly?" Letty asks.

"Yeah, just what is your ability anyways? I remember how you did that weird sword thing. Then there was that really loud thing you did. And you shot ice like me too. You're kind of weird." Cirno states

"You aren't a normal youkai are you? You seem to rely pretty heavily on that armor, whereas me and Cirno protect ourselves with magic. Can you even do magic?" Letty adds as well.

"I'm not a youkai. I'm… I'm a golem. An extremely complicated one." I reply.

Cirno is dumbfounded. "Huh?"

"A golem is like a magical machine." Letty explains to the ice fairy. "Golem crafting is a common trade of magicians, and a common type of summon. You can think of Alice's dolls as a very unique type of golem."

Cirno still seems confused.

"Just forget it Cirno. I'm just complicated." I say in hopes of simplifying the matter for her.

She shrugs. With that aside, we all start walking again. Unfortunately, it doesn't take me but a minute before I stumble into a knotted branch that sends me into the ground.

Letty groans and pulls me back up. "Knight, not being able to fly is one thing, but are you blind? Look where you are going."

"How on earth can you two see anything? It's completely dark in here now." I say, trying not to complain.

They simply shrug. The setting sun does not phase their vision at all. Letty's bluish youkai eyes shine brightly in the growing dark. Cirno's fairy eyes are like glass ice, and seem to glitter with an inner light.

"Yeah, it's dark. But it's not that bad. Haven't you ever been out at night before?" Cirno says.

"Is this some disadvantage of you being a golem? If you're eyes are this bad, then I'm not sure if we are going to make it any further." Letty says as well.

I can't believe this isn't bothering them. I guess night is as natural as day for Gensokyo residents. But it's not for me. The sun is going down. My vision fades. I can only see a faint outline of Cirno and Letty now.

_I hope they won't mind the flashlight._

I reach into one of my side pockets and draw the flashlight out. "Hold on a second. I have something that might help me here."

I flick it on. The bright cone of light illuminates the area ahead of me.

"Wow. Bright!" Cirno says in awe.

"Oh. Well that makes things easier. It might give us away though." Letty says.

I shrug. "That's all I got."

Letty nods after a moment. "Well, Ok then. Off we go. And watch your step now."

We carefully move through the forest. It's a cold winter night now, and the falling snow is starting to form small snow patches on the ground. My allies will be ok with the snow, but I can't help but wonder how snow and ice is going to affect my mountain climb later.

After a moment, I notice Letty glancing at me occasionally.

"What?" I ask.

"Just thinking about what you said. A golem right? You don't look like it to me. You look pretty normal." She remarks.

"Again, I'm complicated." I reply.

"I know… I was just wondering… usually golems have a master they answer to. Do you have a master?" She asks.

_I can't tell her about Arcane. I don't want to risk losing their trust. _"No… I'm a sort of rouge golem I guess."

She ponders on this. "I see. So let me guess, you're going to the mountain to look for your master?"

I shake my head no. "No. I'm trying to figure out what I am made of; what makes me tick. I'm looking for some… er… rare ingredients for a spell that may help me."

"Ingredients?"

_Well… no reason not to tell them. I hope they are ok with this… _"The feather of the Yatagarasu, and the Sword of Hisou."

I expected some kind of reaction, but they just seem confused.

Letty shrugs. "Hm. I haven't heard of those."

Cirno scratches her head. "Sword of… what was it again? Hisou? Never heard of it."

_Nothing eh? _"I guess you don't spend a lot of time in the mountain?"

"A lot of youkai don't." Letty replies. "The tengu aren't fond of youkai no more than they are fond of humans. Try going up Youkai Mountain and you can expect a fight from them the whole way up."

"And then they're those stupid mountain gods!" Cirno jumps in on the conversation. "All they care about is their dumb faith. With all that loyalty they have, you'd think they would do something nice for their followers every now and then. But noooo, they live like kings in the heavens while the rest of us 'normal folk' live on the ground."

_Geez… _"I guess it's not just the Aki sisters you don't like then."

Letty sighs. "A lot of people don't like the gods Knight. I never have, and neither does Cirno. The only god I still have any respect for is the Great Dragon. Wherever he is now…"

_This is new… _"I'm not familiar with that one. Who is the Great Dragon?"

They both stop and look at me for a second. They look at me as if I'm crazy.

After a moment Letty speaks. "The Great Dragon is the god of Gensokyo. He created this world for us to live in peace from the struggles of the human world. He is all powerful, and his name should be treated with the upmost respect. Remember that Knight."

I nod. "Got it. But where is he now? If this is a place where gods can walk among mortals, then why is he not here?"

Letty shrugs. "I don't know. That's a question for Reimu. No one is closer to the Great Dragon than the Hakurei lineage. All I know is that after Gensokyo was created, he vanished."

**Secrets lost to the darkness fall into my domain. I know where he is sleeping. Rest assured servant, you will not have to worry about him during your time here.**

I'm not sure what to make of all that information. Arcane's words are a little worrying though. If the Great Dragon is asleep, than does that make Arcane the most powerful being in existence now that he is awake? Or is there another? Maybe Shinki? But Arcane doesn't seem worried about her either. Just what is his plan, and just where do I fit in?

I look down and sigh. I still am unable to answer any of my questions.

"Hey, buddy? You ok there?" Cirno quietly asks.

"Yeah… I just have a lot on my mind right now." I reply.

Cirno floats over to me and puts a hand on my shoulder. "Come on now, cheer up! You're going to make this fairy sad if you keep walking around with you head hung low."

Letty floats over and does the same. "Yeah. Don't worry about those higher powers. We're just normal youkai down here. Now come one, let's keep going."

I slowly smile. _If only you knew… thanks though._

They float back to my side and we all continue onward.

After a moment I try another conversation. "So… have any of you been to the underground then? That's where we're going after all."

"No."

"Nope."

_So we're all going in blind…_

Letty adds on to her simple 'no'. "All I know is that the underground is a place for the banished youkai. Those who are too dangerous to us normal youkai, those who are too uncivilized, or those who the gods don't like live in the underground."

"So it's going to be full of danger then. Great…" I mutter to myself.

"Aww, don't think of it like that. Think of it as full of adventure!" Cirno cheerfully states.

_Yeah… adventure… let's just pretend it's that for now._

"Anyways, I don't exactly know where I am going down here, so I hope you don't have anything you left unattended." I say to the two of them.

They both think before simultaneously shaking their heads no.

"Don't worry about me and Letty, we got a nice long winter thanks to you. We won't mind sticking around you for a little while." Cirno states

That reassures me a bit. "Thanks you two."

With that, we silently continue the rest of the way forward. The conversation did wonders to help pass the time though, as we soon reach the edge of the Great Youkai Forest; thankfully with no more tripping.

The forest stops suddenly before a large river. The other side is a big empty field, and far behind it I can see the shadow of the mountain in the faint moonlight. Somewhere up ahead is some kind of cave system that leads to an underground city. I don't know where it is, but it has to be close now. I'm finally getting somewhere.

First, we need to cross the river. It's not a huge river, but it's too far for me to jump even with my powers. The water is pretty fast too, and it's got to be freezing with the low temperatures now.

My inability to cross quickly becomes apparent as my two friends simply float over the waters. Once on the other side, the both look back at me.

"What are ya waiting for? Come on!" Cirno calls over the rushing waters.

"I can't fly! How do I cross?" I call back.

Letty opens her mouth to say something, but Cirno quiets her before she can make a suggestion. She whispers something to her, and then turns back to me.

Shining ice magic gathers around Cirno. There is a rush of cold air as Cirno sends forth a burst of ice. The ice solidifies right before it reaches me, and falls with a hard thud onto the ground. Now spanning the river is a thin blade of ice; a makeshift bridge made by the now smiling Cirno.

"Try that!" She says.

_Ok… looks safe._

I carefully step onto the glistening ice bridge. I take one slow step after another, making my way forward across the river.

As I reach the middle, the ice creaks a bit. I stop, and wait for it to adjust to my weight. After a moment I decide that it will hold, and I walk across the rest of the bridge.

I take a deep breath of relief as I step back onto solid earth.

"So, how did it feel?" Cirno eagerly asks.

I give a firm nod. "It works. Felt solid."

Cirno's ice wings beat faster as her joy increases. "Yeah! See Letty, I told you it would work! I always wanted to do that! I just knew that that would be useful!"

I smile. "Haha. Yeah. Keep that around for me. Slowpoke here needs a way to get around."

Letty sighs. "Yes, but you should really learn how to fly. Just because you aren't a natural doesn't mean you can't learn. I had to learn, and you should too."

"I know that." I reply. "I can actually jump pretty good, but the length of that river is about my limit."

She shrugs. "Well, at least you aren't totally helpless."

"Hey, that's a little low Letty." I say back.

She just giggles. She's teasing me again.

Cirno looks around. "Well. Where to next?"

I turn around and look at the river. It flows from my right to the left.

I point to the right. "Upstream. I remember hearing the cave was near a river, and it looks like the river is coming from the mountain. Let's follow it up and see if we can find it."

They agree, and we begin to travel upstream along the riverbank. The splashing water from the river sends cold droplets onto us. Cirno and Letty find it refreshing, but I shiver.

Cirno begins to giggle. "Hehe. Look at that."

"Hmm. That's interesting." Letty notes.

She points at an undefined spot ahead. It takes me a second to realize she's pointing at a dull rainbow caused by my flashlight reflecting through the water droplets. It's faint, but it's there. Again, the fairy is easily entertained by small things.

_Hm?_

I notice something ahead while looking at my light. In the distance I see an unusual shadow moving this way.

"Hey. Something's over there." I say while pointing ahead.

Cirno and Letty focus ahead and soon see the approaching shadow.

"I think it's a person." Letty says.

I try calling ahead to it. "Hello?"

**Servant. Something is disturbing about this person. She does not come with peace in mind.**

This makes me a little nervous, but it's too late to turn around now. We all walk forward and meet this unknown traveler.

A woman emerges from the shadows into my light. She's in a red and black dress; red on the skirt, black around the chest. The side of her dress has a glowing bluish swirl that matches her glowing bluish eyes. Her green hair is tied in front over her chest with a frilly ribbon. Another ribbon sits on the top of her hair and runs all the way down to her arms.

Looking at her gives me an odd feeling. I can't place it, but something about this girl is unsettling. I just feel as if something bad is going to happen.

She gives a polite bow. "Hello travelers. What business do you have here?"

Cirno groans. "Oh… not you. Another one of those stupid mountain gods."

The traveler steps back in shock. "S-stupid? How disrespectful!"

I put a hand on top of Cirno's head. "Hey now. That's no way to introduce ourselves."

I look up at the woman. "I'm Knight, this is Cirno, and over there is Letty. We're going to the underground. Is there a cave this way?"

She smiles a little. "Much better. You should take after your friend here little fairy. Now then, my name is Hina Kagiyama. Yes, there is a cave this way. No, you cannot go there."

_Huh?_

"What do you mean we can't go?" Letty asks, sounding just a little irritated.

"I don't like your tone miss Letty." Hina warns.

I step up. "Letty, please… Hina, I really need to get to the underground. Why can't we go there right now? Is it blocked or something?"

She shakes her head no. "I mean you are not allowed there right now. No one is. Please turn back."

I try and press the matter. "Why? Did something happen?"

She shakes her head again. "Out of respect for my friends there, I will keep their secret. All I will say as that I am helping them keep out unwanted eyes. I will say again. Turn back."

Cirno seems excited now. "Oooh. Knight, a secret in the caves! We should check it out on our way there."

"I said no." Hina enforces.

Cirno sticks her tongue out at her.

Letty steps forward, her eyes narrowed to a threatening glare. "You don't tell us where we can and can't go. Get out of the way."

Hina meets her glare with one of her own. "Are you threatening me? A poor choice Letty. I am a goddess. I will make you pay for crossing me."

I want to speak up to stop Letty, but Cirno speaks up before I can. "You're a poor choice lady. You and all of those other stupid mountain gods up there. I don't know why anyone would even bother listening to you idiots. You're all lame."

Hina steps back, shocked and insulted. "How dare you! For your information, I do not rely on faith. I am a misfortune goddess, and I have plenty to spare for you little trespassers."

_I need to stop this before this turns into a fight._

I force my way back into the conversation. "HEY! Everyone stop. Let's just slow down and start over again."

My two allies groan. Hina steps back a bit.

Cirno eventually speaks up again. "Fine… leader rule… I remember… stupid, lame rules."

"So then, what's your move Knight? Do we turn back, or push through?" Letty irritably demands.

Hina looks at me. "Don't be a fool Knight. Go home."

I try and reason with her. "Look, is there any way we can get by? This is really important. I promise we won't look into whatever your friends are doing. Please Hina, I really need this."

She denies me. "No. I'm sorry Knight. You seem like an honest and respectable person, but I can't. Please, turn back now."

"Hina…"

She crosses her arms. "No. Final word. Go back now."

_Shit. I can't go back… is there really no other way around this?_

**It has been too long since you've drawn your blade in real combat. Do you not hear the cries of your weapons begging to be used? The screams of your dark magic wanting to break free from their seals once more? Unleash them and destroy this woman!**

Arcane is all for me dishing out more pain. He's right though, it has been a few weeks since I really fought. I don't count the Aki sisters because they surrendered, and the skeleton was just a trap.

I don't much care for fighting, but if I'm going up against some of Gensokyo's toughest then I should do my best to fight a lot and get as good as I can before then if I want to survive those harder encounters later. I hate to look at her like this, but this Hina makes a perfect target for just that.

My allies are raring for a fight, and I can't just turn around now; plus I need the practice. The choice seems obvious and I go for it.

_I guess… I guess it's time to take the offensive._

I take a deep breath and look Hina dead in the eyes. "Sorry, but I refuse to back down. There are more important things at stake for me than the wishes of some woman I don't even know. Get out of my way, or I'll force you out of my way."

Cirno cheers. "Way to go Knight! You tell that goddess what you think of her!"

"Hmph. Such disrespectful mortals you all are."

Letty begins to channel magic. "Disrespect? I'll show you disrespect little miss misfortune! I'll knock you right off that high horse you're on!"

Cirno does the same. "I ain't afraid of a little bad luck. Let's see what you're made of! Whatever it is, I bet it freezes!"

_Back into the fray. _I silently think while I draw Deceiver and reload it.

I aim it at her and issue one last demand. "It's three on one Hina. Back off now and let us pass."

"Three on one? Ha." She sarcastically laughs. "You mortals don't stand a chance. I am the goddess of misfortune. I can take all three of you easily."

She elegantly twirls around once and begins to hover. There is yet another rushing of lights and energy as Hina prepares her own magic. A faint dark blue aura forms around her as pure misfortune takes form around the goddess.

The fight is imminent now. There are several simultaneous whirling noises as everyone's magic suddenly hardens to protect their masters. I alone rely on physical power, along with my alien dark magic.

Letty glances at me. "Are you ready? Knight"

I quickly nod. "Yeah. Cirno?"

"You bet I'm ready! Let's do this!"

Hina glowers at the three of us. "Misfortune. Misfortune. Misfortune. Misfortune for all of you. You will regret the day you crossed me. "

It's me, Cirno, and Letty against one goddess. We were able to overpower those two sisters, but Hina looks like she's ready to put up a fight. Even with three of us, this is not going to be easy.

_Alright, here we go again! _I think as I aim my pistol and prepare to fire.

**Make her suffer.**

With everyone ready, the fight begins. Me and my allies face off against Hina in a heated skirmish; our attacks ringing out in the cold winter night.

* * *

A/N

Thank you for reading my latest chapter. Sorry it took so long again. Math and physics tests getting in the way. But I still write, so even if it's taking a while I still am working on the story.

Just sort of a quiet chapter this time. I wanted to make brief mentions of the mountain and the dragon god for later in the story. Some of my reviewers say I have a bit of talent at world building. So I tried to use some of that here to make the travel through the forest interesting as the three characters interacted with each other, and talked about places and people they don't usually see outside the games.

Then I end with an imminent fight with Hina, another one of my favorite characters in the series. In some of the games, the player gets attacked for almost no reason sometimes, with some of the earlier characters literally having no dialogue before they start spraying bullets. Rather than go into a complex reason for a fight, I gave Hina a simple goal that conflicted with Knight, making Hina one of these types of random opponents; except not so random, as she actually there for a reason.

Thank you again for reading. I hope to have the next chapter ready soon.


	32. Wheel of Misfortune

I take the first shot at the goddess. My pistol's fiery bullets strike Hina almost instantly, causing her to flinch in surprise.

Hina quickly takes the defensive. She flies high up and over the three of us. I briefly lose aim as I turn around, but quickly reorient on her and let off more shots. Cirno and Letty follow up with me this time. Cirno lets off a beam of ice and Letty unleashes a wave of chilling snow danmaku.

Our three attacks punish Hina, but this time she holds out against the assault. She quickly twirls her hands through the air and sends out a wave of alternating red and blue danmaku.

"Haha! Here we go!" Cirno exclaims as she breaks off sharply to my right.

"Stay on your toes Knight." Letty says as she goes straight up over the danmaku.

I sidestep a few of the bullets and fire back at Hina. My shots clash against her magical barrier, but she stands tall and continues shooting at me.

Using both hands to attack, she has no problems keeping up with all three of us. Cirno circle-strafes around Hina and casts icicles at her. Letty stays high above, and casts snow down on the battle like a blizzard. Me having the least mobility, I stay close to the same spot, dodging and avoiding danmaku while attacking with Deceiver.

Hina's danmaku is fast, but not fast enough. She's taking more and more damage, and making no progress against us.

Realizing she is losing, she twirls around and distances herself from us for a moment. One moment is all she needs to draw a spell card.

Cirno does not see it. She zooms after Hina in attempt to bring her in closer to her icicle shooting, which is rather inaccurate.

"Hehe… Where ya going? Running off like a little human?" Cirno taunts as she zooms straight towards Hina.

"Cirno no! She's casting a spell card!" I call out.

"Cirno you idiot! Don't get too close!" Letty calls at the same time.

Hina hold her spell card in front of her. "Scar: Broken Charm of Protection!"

Cirno closes in right as the spell activates. The air becomes heavy with Hina's magical power. The goddess unleashes a wide radial blast of danmaku red danmaku bolts.

"Waaaah! Ow Ow Ow Ow Ow!" Cirno struggles to reverse her charge. She is peppered with danmaku as she zooms backwards towards us.

I step back as the mass danmaku falls just short of me. I then shine my flashlight forward and focus on Hina. I notice something odd about her. She's… spinning. Hina repeatedly twirls around in the air, remaining stoic all the while.

_She's spinning? What's with her?_

**Focus!**

Hina spins closer back to us. She is enveloped in a short flash of light as her magic attack sends more bolts in every direction.

_Shit!_

I lower myself a bit before turning and making a strong leap straight backwards. I clear myself away from the attack that would otherwise be impossible for me to slip through.

Cirno on the other hand is not so lucky. Still trying to recover from the first hit, she fails to avoid the next. Cirno reels backwards as bullets hit her yet again.

"Cirno! Are you ok?" I hastily ask while attempting to slow Hina with gunfire.

She dusts herself off and recovers. "Ugh… stupid goddess. I'll get you for that!"

I wave my hand to get her attention so I can stop her. "Cirno, don't. Stay back with me, try and keep out of range."

"Hey, you may make the rules in the adventure, but we fight how we want. You stay back, I'll take her on. I'll bring down that spell card with one stroke!" Cirno says as she winds up for another charge.

_Damn it. She's going to get hit again. Maybe Letty can back her up._

I look up and shout to Letty, who has been pelting Hina with a rather weak snow danmaku this whole time. "Letty, help me keep Hina off balance. Let Cirno get in close and deal some damage."

She nods. "Got it. Here goes… Ha!"

Letty throws both her hands forward, sending forth a chilling wind snow.

Yet it's not enough. With Hina's magical barrier still fully intact, she shows no signs of weakening.

_Letty isn't strong enough to throw off Hina's guard. Maybe this will help. _"Mysterious Tremor!"

I fire off a beam of dark magic that hits the spinning Hina while her back is turned. Hina is overcome by weakness and loses balance before she even knows what is going on. The cold wind further unbalances her, causing her to stumble in the air.

Cirno rockets towards her. The ice fairy gathers magic into her hands, forming a large chunk of ice as she gets closer. By the time she reaches Hina, Cirno is holding an ice block as large as her.

Cirno slams the block right into Hina's head. The ice explodes into pieces. Her magical barrier saves her from any real damage, but the huge impact sends Hina plummeting straight down into the ground. A flash of light and quieting of magic confirms her spell card destroyed. She lies still on the grass, making no sign of retaliation.

Hina quietly moans. "Uhh… nnn…"

Cirno drifts back to us while laughing at her great victory. "Ahahaha! Take that stupid goddess! See? One shot, just like I said! It feels good to be the strongest!"

I groan. "Cirno, you had backup you know. Be careful next time and let us get into a good spot first. Then you can go play hero."

She turns to me with a sly smile. "Aww, you're just jealous aren't ya? Well we can't all be the strongest, so get used to it buddy."

I sigh, and so does Letty. She completely missed my point.

I look ahead and notice Hina is not where she landed. She's already up and moved.

_Oh… not good! _"Hey, Hina is gone!"

Cirno shrugs. "She probably just went home like the-Oof!"

Hina suddenly swoops down onto Cirno from above and hammers her with a misfortune shrouded hand. I have no idea how she managed to get above us without us noticing; perhaps because misfortune appears when you least expect it.

Hina's godly powers send Cirno straight into the ground. She lies still there for a moment. Hina takes advantage and prepares a bolt of magic to fly straight down into the fallen Cirno. She's going for an execution style attack.

_Oh no you don't! _

I summon Storm into my hand and rush at Hina. The electrified axe buzzes and cackles as I charge my attack.

At the last second, Hina looks up at me. "Bad move."

With a wave of her hand, she scatters the charged bolt she was about to drop on Cirno into a flurry of tiny shots at me. A trick attack.

**Save yourself.**

_Alright, time to test how well this works!_

I stop and crouch down. I use a powerful leap straight up and forward. I clear the wave of danmaku and land just short of Hina.

Her plan to let me get close has backfired. Now it's my turn to deal some damage.

"Ah? Ah… stay back mortal!" Hina says as she takes a defensive step back.

Before she can get in the air away from me, I quickly swing the axe into Hina's stomach. The attack unleashes the pent up energy straight into her. Normally, powered attacks with Storm cause an energy spear to travel through the ground, but since I used it directly on Hina it explodes instantly on her body. The powerful energy blast is amplified by the direct strike from the axe, causing her to stumble back and fall over from the intense electrocution.

I take the time to pull Cirno back to her feet. "You ok?"

She nods and gets back into the air. "Thanks buddy. That one really hurt."

I look back into the air behind me. "You still back there Letty?"

"Yeah. Just let me know next time you run out there like that though. I almost shot at you!" She says with agitation.

_I guess I'm not any better at tactics than Cirno._

**Ready yourself. This goddess has more cards.**

Hina slowly pulls herself off the ground, still shuddering from the lingering electricity. "Mmph… I see you aren't any normal youkai Knight. But everyone is subject to the wheel of fate. You're no exception."

She draws another card. "Fate: Old Lady Ohgane's Fire!"

Cirno draws her own spell card. "You aren't beating me this time. Freeze Sign: Perfect Freeze!"

_Uh oh. Fire and ice. Cirno won't stand a chance with that card._

**I do not believe a fire is what is meant by that card.**

I quickly realize he is right. The misfortune aura around her splits into three ghostly flames. As she starts to spin, so do the wisps. The wisps spread farther and farther away from her before they begin to emit danmaku. A circle of large round bullets wrap around Hina before slowly flying off.

_Great. Melee is out of my options now. No way am I getting through that._

Thankfully, I still have my allies' aid. Cirno's spell card lets her shoot balls of pure ice magic at Hina. Hina and Cirno trade danmaku while I fire with my pistol again and Letty supports with her snow danmaku. The air is heavy with the power of two clashing spell cards and the night is loud with the sounds of fighting.

The spinning misfortune wisps fling danmaku in all directions. Hina is effortlessly attacking all of us with her magic. She wasn't lying about being able to put up a fight against the three of us.

I duck and take a step to the side as a few more orbs fly towards me. One of the shots grazes over my back as I do so.

_Whoa! Too close there. This isn't good. The spell card Hina is using is getting more chaotic. We need to break it, now._

The display Cirno is making is quite spectacular, but she isn't hitting Hina any more than Hina is hitting her. My one-handed aim is shaky as I struggle to keep up with Hina's erratic movements whilst using the flashlight, and Letty's danmaku is not doing any better.

I switch to Shredder for more damage. I shoot the machine pistol at Hina, not caring if I miss a few shots. The spray of bullets mostly hit their mark, but Hina doesn't even flinch; she just keeps spinning.

"Come on, just break already!" I angrily shout as I reload the gun. Hina's spell card is still intact in spite a full spray from my gun.

A wayward orb flies at me and nails me in the leg before I can react to it. The bottom of my coat saves me from any real harm, but I can still feel heat and soreness as a bruise forms under where the impact was.

_Damn it! Come on!_

I fire more automatic gunfire at Hina. Her spell card's effects stay intact in spite of the loud cracking of her barrier being damaged.

But just when I think I'm going to have to reload and attack her and her spell card again, it breaks under one of my bullets. A flash of light and the energy in the air shifts. With no more contest, Cirno's magic takes over.

Hina's spinning is disrupted, and she staggers in the air. "Ah! No, my card!"

Cirno's strength seems to multiply suddenly. The number of orbs she is firing increases, and so do their speed and accuracy. The onslaught of ice magic pelts Hina, damaging her and driving her backwards.

**Hm. It seems if there is nothing to challenge the magic of a spell card, then the power of it increases as it dominates the air and earth. Perhaps it is not so useless to have a spell card using follower with you to challenge strong spell card users.**

_Ha, now you turn around on that issue._

I still have a few shots left in Shredder, but I summon more ammo and reload anyways. Fully loaded, I join in with Cirno in an all-out-attack against Hina. Letty moves a little closer and follows up with a few blasts of snow. The goddess is shoved away from us as the damage piles up. Her magic won't protect her too much longer.

Then, before we can defeat her, Hina frantically draws another spell card.

"Wou-ah! Ow! Kya! Wound-gah! No! Kyaaa!" Hina struggles to recite the spell card. She can't focus on under the heavy fire of three opponents.

"Come on everyone! Keep up the punishment!" I say.

But no sooner do I say that then she manages to spit out the words. "Wound Sign: Pain Flow!"

Hina starts to spin around again. The air shift back to the odd mix of clashing misfortune and ice magic. Cirno's attacks slow noticeably as she loses strength.

Cirno stops and growls at me. "Knight, you jinxed it! We almost had her!"

_Crap. _"Sorry. I guess that sort of thing would happen against a bad luck goddess."

Letty groans. "Really Knight. Think things through next time… now let's put this little goddess down for good."

_I guess I should try thinking with dream logic more now that I'm in Gensokyo. But yeah, one more spell card won't offer too much extra protection. I bet we break her barrier and her card at the same time now._

I aim at Hina once more. I don't have too much more energy for ammo, so I need to make these next shots count. I just hope my allies can deal some real damage this time. Cirno still has her spell cards going, and Letty hasn't even used hers yet, but Hina isn't playing around either. We still have a bit of fight to go yet.

Hina takes a deep breath before speaking. "Now then... Spin. Spin. Spin! Spin the wheel of misfortune!"

Hina holds both her arms out as she spins faster than ever before. She fires danmaku bullets from both palms, spraying them all over the place as she spins madly in the air. The danmaku quickly falls out of order, and becomes a random mess of bullets.

A few shots hit me in the chest. "Guh! Damn. I'm getting hit!"

Cirno is also hit. "Ouch! Stop that spinning you idiot goddess! You're shooting all over the place!"

Letty has been ruling the air above us the whole time, and is clear out of range.

"Letty! Give us some better support or something; we're getting beat down here!" I call out.

Letty waves from above. "Alright. One spell card, coming up! Cold Sign: Lingering Cold!"

The falling snow is amplified by Letty's card. Her snow danmaku begins to fall down in powerful waves. The snowflakes become huge in size, and begin bursting on contact with the ground.

"Alright! Let's get back at it Cirno!" I shout as I duck under some of Hina's danmaku and fire back.

Cirno is already casting more ice orbs before I can finish. "Way ahead of you buddy!"

Hina continues to blindly spin around while spewing danmaku over the place. I sustain a few more hits, but I stand fast and keep firing.

_Come on… Come on…_

It only takes a few more moments from our combined attacks before her spell card shatters once more. A few more shots from Cirno then crushes her barrier, dispelling her magic and leaving her open to real attacks.

**Now… no mercy.**

"No!" She cries out as she raises her arms in defense.

"Oh yes." Cirno says with a smile. "Payback time!"

"Say goodnight Hina." Letty says from above.

_Sorry it came to this Hina, but you got in my way. _I think as I reload one last time.

All three of us fire one last barrage into her. Cirno's ice orbs breaks on her skin, cracking it with subzero temperatures. Wind and snow from Letty chills her to her very core while simultaneously forcing her to land on the ground. My rapid gunfire leaves several fine holes in her that slowly begin to leak crimson blood.

"KYAAAAA!" Hina shrieks in agony as we punish her one last time.

After I empty the magazine into her, I stop. My allies let up too and disband their own spell cards. The fighting stops and the air falls silent.

Hina stumbles forward a bit, barely catching herself as she does. Disheveled, bloodied, and frostbitten, she slowly walks towards us.

"E-every… E-everything… everything's spinning." Hina chokes out.

With that, she collapses. She falls face first into a small pile of snow. Her labored breathing is the only sign she is still alive.

**There. She is done. Her suffering shall be added to my power. Well done servant.**

Cirno puts her hands on her hips. "HAHA! Take that!"

Letty lands next to me. "Hmph. Talk to me about disrespect will you? How's that for some disrespect? Idiot mountain goddess…"

I feel bad enough as it is, so I stop her. "Letty, knock it off."

She glares at me. "What? She lost, fair and square. She got nothing less than what she deserved. Next time she might think twice about acting high and mighty like that around other youkai. You can't tell me you think we shouldn't have done that?"

Cirno finally turns around and starts to make her way back to us. "What? Knight being Knight again?"

Letty nods to her.

I sigh. "It's not that. I'm just…"

"Not used to seeing someone lose?" Letty finishes.

"Yeah… I'm never going to get used to that."

She smiles a little and puts a hand on my shoulder. "Still an outsider Knight… oh well. We'll help get you fitted in eventually. Now come on, I want to see what's in this cave that this goddess was so intent on protecting."

Cirno agrees. "Yeah! I wore myself out for this. I hope it's good!"

_That reminds me. _"Hey Cirno, are you hurt? You got shot a few times."

She shrugs. "Nope. I feel good. How about you buddy?"

I look down at myself. No holes, just a few scratches.

I dust myself off. "Nah. I'm fine. Letty?"

"Not a scratch." She says with a little pride.

I sigh. "Yeah, that's what you get for taking the back row in a fight. We could use a little more fighting next time."

She frowns a bit. "Sorry. I guess I was holding back a bit. It's just a habit of mine. I try and stay far away in a fight. I'm not as tough as Cirno anyways, so I kind of like to take the support roles instead. Like a snowfall, I like to be above the fight and rain down on them."

"Er… well, if you say so. I don't want to force you to fight the wrong way for my sake, so just do what you want I guess." I say with a bit of disappointment. I would have liked a third fighter to take some of the stress off me and Cirno.

Cirno take Letty's remark as a compliment though. "Yeah, I'm more of the quick, beat 'em up kind of person myself. I've spent a lot of time practicing danmaku, so I'm really good at it. After all, I am the strongest around these parts. Hehe."

I smile. "Yeah, sure. Just work on that aim of yours. Your shooting was worse than anyone I've met."

Letty giggles. "Yeah. Remember that one time during the mist incident when you first used your spell card? That was hilarious."

Cirno goes red. "Sh-shut up! I've gotten better since then! That was a long time ago!"

_Apparently I'm missing the joke. Hm…_

I shake my head and forget about it. "Anyways. Since we're talking about abilities, I guess you can call me more of a slow powerhouse than anything. I can't fly and I don't have magical protection or danmaku, but I can fight pretty well up close, and my guns give me some good ranged damage too. Just keep me covered, and I'll be fine."

Cirno crosses her arms. "Right right… just don't think I'm letting you steal the spotlight all the time. I want some action too. Oh, and don't use those things next to me either! That just kills my ears."

I agree with her. "Alright, we'll have plenty of fighting for you to do I'm sure. And sorry about the noise. Anyways…"

I look over at the collapsed Hina. "Do we just leave her there? She doesn't look too good."

Cirno shrugs. "Sure. It's not like she's going to die. She's a goddess. It'll just hurt for a few weeks."

"If it was a human, I might feel a little bad for leaving them like that, but non-humans don't usually die from wounding. You have to really try to kill them to get rid of them permanently, and that's a lot harder than it sounds when they're really fighting back." Letty says.

I can't help but think about that first youkai I fought. I didn't know my own strength, and I split her in half. I shiver when I think about it. As long as I don't go berserk like that, then I shouldn't have to worry about killing people on accident. I can defend myself just fine like this.

With nothing else to say about the fight, I turn away from her. "Ok then. Let's get going. We still have to find this cave."

"Alright! Secret time!" Cirno shouts as she zooms back the direction we were originally heading; up river.

Letty silently turns around and head that way as well.

I stop for a second and give one last look at Hina… who is now standing right in front of me.

Hina grabs me by the shoulder. "Wait, Knight… I haven't… given you your fortune yet. Did you know… I give fortunes? I collect them. I am an agent of fate after all… haaa… "

Hina's heavy breathing and slightly crazed expression frightens me a bit. I struggle to get away. "Hey! Back off! I don't want your fortunes!"

Hina holds her hand up to my face. In it is a small paper card. Using her fingers she opens it. The card says 'A curse in the future'.

Hina chuckles a little. "Oh my. How unfortunate. A bad one it seems. What are the chances of that? Haha. Oh well, I guess you'll have to face the consequences when the time comes. Haha… ha."

**…**

_Ok, you're a little weird now Hina. Get off me now!_

Before I can draw a weapon against her, Letty comes up from behind me and throws a fist right into Hina's face. Hina collapses and falls silent once more.

She rubs her sore knuckles. "Hmph. Stay down you idiot."

Cirno rushes up right after her. "Whoa whoa! We still fighting? Let me at 'em!"

"No Cirno." I quickly reply. "No one's here. Hina just thought she would make a final stand while I had my back turned. She just spoke some nonsense about fortunes though; didn't attack. Thanks for the hand anyways Letty."

She nods. "Sure. The pleasure is mine. I always wanted to give one of these arrogant goddesses a good whack. Maybe now she'll calm down."

I look down at Hina. "Yeah. I think she's done. Come on, let's go before she tries to get up again."

This time, I lead the way for the three of us; moving at a quick pace.

Something she said matched something Arcane said earlier. Something about a 'time' to come. If that's true, then Arcane does have a future move planned. I don't know what or when, but it means he isn't full of hot air. He's going to do something with me, and I have to beat him before he strikes. I have to hurry.

Cirno and Letty move ahead of me.

"Whoa. Slow down there. You look a little angry buddy." Cirno says in a worried tone.

_Right… calm down now… no need to rush to my death. I have time. Now let's take it slow, and I'll get through this. Just a few more little tussles along the way and everything will be fine… I hope._

I sigh and cool myself down. "Yeah. Sorry. Just a little peeved about getting hit with my back turned. I'm fine… Come on you two. Let's get to this cave. I have to admit, I am kind of curious about what Hina said."

**As am I. Hurry and look into this for me servant.**

They both agree with me, and we resume traveling. Now moving at a more leisurely pace, the three of us follow the river back to the nearby Youkai Mountain in search of a cave, and some sort of strange secret there.

I don't know what it is, but after that skirmish with Hina, I hope it's not another opponent. I'm looking forward to making some progress now.

With the mountain in sight, and its guardian now behind us, we all move towards Youkai Mountain and the underground entrance… and whatever bizarre secret that is being kept there right now.

* * *

A/N

Thank for reading my latest chapter.

This fight came off as a bit easier for Knight then the others have been. Granted a stage one boss, a stage two boss, and the protagonist should stand a reasonable chance of overpowering a single stage two boss, I wanted to take into account that Hina is a divine being, and she could still probably give three mortal adventurers a good runaround. In this story, I usually go with which stage in a game a character first appears in to gauge how strong a character is, and then make variations based on who/what the character is and what their intentions are.

But the fight really isn't the focus here. I wanted to try and illustrate how teams would work in a danmaku duel, and how they might work together to take down an enemy fighter. Knight being an odd man out in the group made this a lot of fun to write about, and I was entertaining a lot of ideas as to how this would work out for the trio. Hopefully, this was the best iteration of those ideas.

Now then, onto the next.

Thank you again for reading. I hope to have the next chapter ready soon.


	33. Mad Mecha

The winter night seems to drag on as the three of us make a slow trek back up the river. The three of us are silent as we trace the river backwards towards Youkai Mountain.

The silence is killing me, but the mountain isn't too much farther away now. It will only be a while longer.

Still, it is a bit annoying.

"Awfully quiet…" I mutter. Neither of my allies comment.

I try another conversation. "So Cirno… you seemed to know Hina. Do you know all of the mountain gods?"

She turns to look at me. "Hm? Oh, yeah. I wish I didn't though. All I hear from the humans anymore is about how wonderful and benevolent the gods of Gensokyo are. There's the two autumn goddesses; Shizuha and Minoriko Aki. You met them, you know what they're like. There's Hina, the misfortune goddess. She's a sign of bad luck, but also a goody-goody and everyone loves her for her ability to take misfortune… kinda ticks me off really. Stupid humans need to learn to deal with their own problems…"

She sighs and continues. "Then there's the worst of them all. The Moriya shrine deities. There's Kanako, the goddess of the rain. Suwako, the goddess of the earth. And Sanae, the human embodiment of the wind."

That last one catches my attention. "Wait, embodiment?"

"Yeah, that's right. She was a human, but because she buttered up to the goddesses at the Moriya shrine they gave her divine powers 'n stuff, and she became a mortal goddess. She's technically a shrine maiden for them, but people worship her as much as they worship her masters. Just because she happened to know the right people, she gets all the perks of living in the mountain. It's just wrong if you ask me. If we youkai can't go up the mountain, how come a _human _can? It's just stupid…"

She turns back around and continues forward at her normal pace. "Anyways. Yeah, that's them. There are a few others, but those are the worst of them."

**More fools to deal with later…**

_Hm… I've already made attacks on three of the six main goddesses of the mountains. I hope I don't cross the rest of them. All of that divine wrath would eventually catch up to me._

I just shrug. "Hm. Interesting. Just curious though. You don't know anything about a sword though?"

"Nope. Sorry."

"That's fine. We'll find it." I reply.

Letty makes no comments throughout the conversation, and continues humming to herself. Me and Cirno fall silent once more as we walk through the night towards the mountain.

The roar of the water is getting louder. If the mountain is somehow the source of the river, then a waterfall must be nearby. The mountain's steep rocky face is clearly visible at this range, but I see no caves yet. It must be…

_Wait… there._

I stop us. "Hold on. Look over there. I think that's it."

Shining my flashlight, I point out a spot where the mountain opens up. The seemingly endless darkness of a wide mouthed cave sits in the distance.

Letty sighs. "Finally. Let's have a look."

"Secret time!" Cirno exclaims.

The three of us break away from the river and make our way towards the mountain. The grassy fields quickly rise up and shift to rocky slopes as we approach the cave.

Something is supposed to be here. Something that Hina was asked to protect. Yet all I see is the cave entrance. Granted, this looks like a pretty dark cave, and it is night.

The three of us approach the cave. It's a massive hole in the mountain, about the size of a hangar. Shining my flashlight, I see nothing but darkness ahead.

I see nothing… but I begin to smell something.

Cirno instantly clamps her hands of her face. "Ugh! Yuck! What is that smell? Something stinks in there!"

Letty quietly places a hand of her nose as well. "What a disgusting smell. I'm not sure I like this secret."

It is a pungent smell, yet I don't react the same way at all. I actually recognize the smell.

It's a familiar scent. The heady smell of oil, grease, and gasoline. The smell of an auto mechanic.

_Ok… now I'm really curious. _"Come on, let's keep going."

My allies reluctantly follow me ahead. As I approach the massive cave mouth, I realize why I can't see inside it. It's not because it's dark, but because there is a large black canvas slung over the cave mouth. There is a small slit in the fabric where a person can slip through and enter.

We walk up to the cover, but my allies stop.

"Ugh… it's too much. This smell is even worse up here. How can you stand this Knight?" Cirno groans.

"I know this smell. It's something I remember from the outside world. I'm going to check it out." I say to them as I grab the opening.

Letty starts to wobble a bit. "I… I feel ill. C-can you go on ahead and investigate for us? I… I need a minute."

"Yeah… get rid of that smell if you can." Cirno adds.

I give thumbs up and slip through the opening and into the cave.

I realize it's not just a flap over a cave, but a tent with the opening facing outward. The black tent reaches upward all the way to the roof of the cave, and the sides hug the wall of the cave. The back seems to open up to the rest of the cave. Scattered around are several pieces of machinery and a high powered tools I don't recognize.

I then realize that's it's not just a tent with the opening facing outward. It's a garage. And there's a vehicle in here along with it… a big one.

I shine my flashlight at the vehicle. _H-holy shit…_

**Hmm… quite interesting. I wonder who put that here.**

Before me is a metal clad behemoth. A tank, armed to the teeth and fully geared for combat.

I slowly walk up to the machine and gaze up at it in awe. After dealing with magic and spells and other kinds of fantasy stuff, I really didn't expect to see one of these.

The tank is fire red; an unusual color for a modern looking fighter tank. I've only seen pictures of tanks before, but this thing is huge in comparison to those. The treads alone are about a foot taller than me.

Above that is the main turret; a great cannon barrel extending out over the front connected to the round body. The barrel is large enough to fit my head. It could fire a huge warhead at something.

On the very top of the tank is a secondary gun. It's a combo weapon system combing a powerful machinegun and a small cannon-like gun side by side. Those guns look real, and dangerous.

But there is another odd thing about this tank. Draped over the main barrel and over the sides are elegant tapestries with a flower design on them. They don't say anything on them, they're just flower banners. In addition to that there is a tiny flower perched right at the tip of the tank's cannon, almost like a car's hood ornament, except for the tank's gun.

I walk around the whole thing, which takes me about a minute thanks to its great size. In spite of the odd color schematic and frilly accessories, it looks like a real war machine. If this thing works, it could be a serious threat. I don't know how youkai or magicians would stand against the superior modern firepower of a tank.

_I wonder if anything works on here. It looks brand new… no scratches or battle scars._

I walk around to the side again and examine the tread. I place one of my gloved hands on the tread.

_Warm…_

I draw my hand back and find it splattered in fresh mud. _Been moving too. Someone's been using this alright._

I step back in front of it and look it over one last time. It really is impressive, but extremely out of place in Gensokyo.

_I guess this is what Hina was watching over. Someone must be working on this in secret, but who? I don't think there's… well… there's Nitori, but she wouldn't build this would she? She's a genius, but she doesn't seem like she would need a tank. Maybe it's just a hobby?_

_Or is there someone else with the knowhow to make a working tank?_

**I think you are about to find out.**

My heart skips a beat. _What?_

There is a slight buzzing noise as an intercom comes on. Someone is in the tank.

_Uh oh…_

The tank emits a cheery feminine voice. "Alright then! All systems seem to check out. I think that's it for maintenance checks. I think it's time for a real combat mission. Begin operation… now!"

There is a grumbling noise from within the tank, followed by a deafening roar as the heavy engine comes to life. A small black spot above the main cannon suddenly turns red; a camera. The electronic eye begins to scan about randomly, as if making some kind of spot check.

Along with the camera, the main cannon and the secondary turret twitch from side to side and make some idle adjustments in preparation for the imminent advance.

Then, everything on the tank settles in. The adjustment finishes. The roaring of the engine quiets to a guttural idling noise. The red viewing eye turns golden, and a small forward lamp turns on and shines on the ground just next to me.

"Alright! Everything is green. I'm coming for you little red and white miko. This time, you're going to be the one that gets blown up. I'll prove to everyone the superior power of my tanks. Operation 'Miko Buster' Begin!" Declares the tank pilot.

_Oh man, look out! _I think as I step to the side unnoticed.

The rumbling of the engine increases in loudness as the tank slowly moves forward. The rugged treads tear at the muddy stone of the cave ground and push the behemoth forward. It accelerates forward and slowly moves out of the cave.

I hear my allies gasp in shock as the tank pushes aside the flap of the tent and exits the cave. Not knowing what else to do, I quickly run outside to see what is going on.

Once outside, I find both Letty and Cirno in the air with the magic at the ready. They look pretty unnerved by the red behemoth stopped next to them. More importantly, the tank is pointing at them.

"Hey there you two." The tank jokingly remarks. "Nice night for a stroll eh? How do you like my new tank? It's just great for those evening drives. Don't you just love those? Haha."

Cirno glances at me. "W-what is this thing and why is it pointing at me? Some kind of new youkai?"

The tank thinks Cirno is talking to her, so she begins to taunt them again. "This, my dear fairy, is only the greatest super weapon in the whole world. My beloved tank is stronger than anything you can imagine. Stronger than anyone in Gensokyo! And right now, I'm going to prove it!"

Cirno panics a little. "Weapon? That? N-no way, it's huge!"

Letty is unnerved as well. "What a terrible monstrosity this is. It's enormous. Someone could live inside that weapon. I… don't know what to think."

The tank pilot continues to gloat. "Hahaha! Are you scared? You should be!"

I step alongside the tank and speak up to it. "Hey! Stop threatening them. They don't know what a tank is, so don't go telling them stories to scare them."

"Eh? Who's that?"

The tank's turret rotates towards me a bit, stopping just short of bumping me with the barrel. The electronic eye rotates and sets on me.

"Who are you? Coming to gawk at my newest creation?" The pilot asks.

I remain calm. "Knight, and no. I'm just passing through when I found you and your tank. Are you what Hina was guarding?"

"Ooh… yeah. That. Well, the misfortune goddess already watches over the mountain, so it's not like it was a big favor for her to watch over the cave entrance as well. I needed a little secrecy, and when I told her the kappa were involved she was more than happy to help her friends." The tank replies.

_Kappa? _"So Nitori was involved."

The tank driver sighs. "Ah yes… sweet sweet Nitori. The kappa have a lot of brilliant minds on them, but no one can beat Nitori when it comes to raw technological ingenuity. Yeah, she helped me put my tank together. She just loved working on this tank, didn't give a care about what it was for though. Not that it matters."

"So why are you going after Reimu?" I ask again "I assume that's what you were talking about at least."

"Oh whoops… I guess you heard that? Well… I suppose it doesn't matter. Yes, I'm going to squash that little shrine maiden and her shrine. Why you ask? Revenge. Revenge for her humiliating me and my tanks long ago. It's been a few years since I've shown myself, but I'm back, upgraded and ready for battle. This time, she's going down."

The pilot then counters with her own question "You don't seem scared though. Pretty brave aren't you? I could blow you to pieces with just one push of a button you know."

I laugh a bit at that. "Haha. Scared? You bet I am. I never thought I would meet a crazy woman in a tank with a plan for revenge. I'm an outsider though, so I know what this thing is capable of."

Letty and Cirno move up behind me.

"Knight, what is this thing?" Letty quickly asks.

"A tank. It's what outsiders use as a weapon for war. It's heavily armored and wields the biggest of guns. These things are the monsters of the outside world." I explain.

"Not just any weapon." The tank adds. "This is my all powerful flower tank!"

"Right…" I sigh. I can tell this girl is full of herself.

She takes offense to my dismissive remark and begins a self-righteous rant.

"Hey! What's with that sigh? Do you think this is just any ordinary tank? The kappa gave me their best technology and magic to make this! I've got more firepower than you can wrap your head around! The main cannon fires three kinds of rounds. I've got armor piercing high penetration rounds, devastating explosive impact rounds, and versatile scattershot rounds. I can deal with any situation with this tank. A secondary laser cannon and machinegun can rip and burn any close range threats apart in an instant! In addition to all of that, I've got a long range artillery missile launcher and close range mini-missile salvo for tertiary weapons as well."

She goes on another minute before finishing. "All of that combined with a powered armor sheath, a magic fueled overcharged engine and a state of the art resource management system makes this the biggest, toughest, and smartest war machine there is. And I control it all from the comfort of my cockpit. So don't give me a 'right…' little man! I can squash you like a bug!"

My allies are amazed at the long technical explanation.

"Whoa… I didn't understand half of those words." Mutters Cirno.

"I… I don't know what to think. This thing sounds invincible." Letty whispers after her.

I on the other hand, rub my aching forehead. _What a mouthful… this girl is really full of herself._

I look back up at the camera. "Look, very nice and all, but you aren't serious about going to destroy the shrine are you?"

I quickly realize my bad choice of words. "I'm serious! And what's with that dubious question? You don't think I can do it? I'll show you what I can do!"

_Whoops, that didn't come out right. _"Hey, that's not what I meant. I mean, why go after Reimu now? You said it's been years. It's not like she still hates you or anything. Fighting is the nature of Gensokyo. You fight, you get beat up, and you let it go. Why the grudge?"

"Hmph." The pilot scoffs. "You don't think people hold grudges? I guess you don't know what it's like to be utterly humiliated. You see, Reimu was only a _child _when she beat my first flower tank. A kid beating a tank! Me and all scientific creation were considered a joke until another incident proved otherwise. Even after that, it took me years before I could get someone to look at me with a straight face again. I can't forgive Reimu for that humiliation. I vowed revenge, and now I'm going to have it!"

I sigh. _Man, this girl likes to talk. I didn't ask for a life story._

"Hey, why are you sighing again? Do you think that's stupid? I'm being serious! That's not something you just let go! I spent-"

I snap. "Damn it just stop! I don't need to hear every single detail every time you talk! Just stop talking already! You're just an annoying little kid with some wheels and a stupid revenge plot, and that's all there is to it. Grow up!"

Everyone is silenced by my unexpected outburst.

I let anger get the better of me. Granted she was annoying me with her arrogance and ranting. She deserved to get told off for her attitude. But in my rage I forgot a rather important detail…

She's in a tank.

_Oh man. What am I saying? She's going to kill me! I need to apologize. There was no call for that._

I look down a bit. "Hey, s-sorry. I didn't mean that. I'm just a little on edge tonight. I've had a lot of things happen to me today. I know that's no excuse for shouting at you like that, but still… I'm really sorry. "

The intercom on the tank emits static as the pilot mutters something to quiet to be picked up.

_Umm… what's happening? _"H-hey? You there? I said I'm sorry about that. Again, I didn't mean it. That was really out of line."

More static.

"Everything ok in there?" I ask. "I'm just getting static out here… hey, you there? Hello? Hey! You in there?"

The tank pilot finally speaks up. "My name is not 'hey'. It's Rika… and I… am not… a CHILD! I'm nineteen! I'm an adult! Stop calling me a child! Stop underestimating me!"

I've hit a nerve. I need to turn this around, fast.

"Hey. Rika was it? I didn't mean-"

Too late. The tank suddenly reverses and turns around. The tank backs away from us a bit and points the barrel at the three of us.

"Whoa! Hey! No need for-"

"Shut up!" Rika screams over the intercom of her tank. "Shut up! Shut up! I'm not a child! I'll prove you wrong! I'll prove you all wrong!"

Cirno whispers over my shoulder. "Knight, this girl is nuts. What should we do?"

"I think we should run. She's having a fit, and I don't want to get in her way." I whisper back.

Rika replies to my whisper. "Hey, I heard that! So you're going to laugh at me and run? Not a chance! You're dead meat Knight! I'm going to blow you to smithereens!"

_Shit… I've done it now… what was I thinking? How could I be so stupid? I'm going to die now. There's no way we can beat a tank. This is it for me…_

**Silence you fool. You forget who you are. Your weapons and dark magic are superior to this machine. This girl cannot possibly defeat you. Use your powers and thwart this woman and her machine.**

_Arcane, are you insane? It's a fucking tank!_

**Fight or die. **Her growls.

_Fight or die… I guess I have no choice. If it were any ordinary situation, I would say forget it. But I have magic. I have an arsenal. I'm in Gensokyo. Maybe… maybe I can beat it. Somehow._

I glance at my two allies. "Well… ready for another fight?"

Letty nods. "I'll help you, but I don't know what to do against this thing. I'll admit Knight… I'm a little nervous."

"Just hit it really hard." I reply. "A tank is tough, but not invincible. I… I don't know how good our chances are, but she isn't letting us get away. Sorry I don't have a better plan… Hell, sorry for getting us into another mess, but it's too late now. We have to try something or she'll kill us."

Cirno chuckles behind me. "Ha. Don't be sorry Knight. I actually kind of like you when you stand up for yourself. It's a nice touch. And who needs plans? Just 'beat it up' is fine with me. The strongest isn't afraid of a tank!"

_If only I could be as brave as you Cirno._

Letty puts a hand on my shoulder. "Stand tall now Knight. We'll help you. Just make sure you help us too. Together, this thing doesn't stand a chance. The power of winter is greater than any weapon!"

Rika interrupts our little pre-battle pep talk. "You done? Or do you want to talk more before you die?"

_Alright. Showtime. Let's see what I can really do now. Man versus tank. This is crazy… but I'll make it work. I have to. I can't die for this._

With that, I throw my all into the coming fight.

I take one last deep breath. "Alright everyone. Let's do this."

"Haha! Alright! This is gonna be a wild fight!" Cirno exclaims as she zooms forward and circles around the tank.

Letty, once again, takes off upward. "I'll be above. Keep your guard up Knight."

The tank's main cannon stays aimed at me. The secondary guns follow Cirno, whirring as it quickly rotates to keep her in sight.

**Time to perform your duty once more. Bring me this girl's anguish. Show her the pain you can cause!**

I slowly walk to the side and begin to strafe around the vehicle. I don't' know what this thing is capable of. I need to be careful and let Rika make the first mistake.

The main turret makes a grinding noise as it turns to keep up with me.

"You're a dead man walking Knight." Rika says.

"Your fish in a barrel Rika. You don't know what I'm capable of." I shoot back.

She laughs. "Oh, danmaku? So wonderful isn't it? Well I'm shielded and armored in here. You aren't capable of nothing! Just dying, which you're about to be doing a lot of."

"Try me." I coldly reply, hoping to egg her into making the first move.

Yet she does not fire. Letty and Cirno join me in holding fire as we remain deadlocked with Rika's tank. Both sides wait for the other to risk the first move.

Now locked in a fatal duel with a tremendous war machine, I summon Nightmare; my heaviest melee weapon. I don't know if it will be enough, but it's what I'm going with.

_Alright… do or die… here I go!_

I suddenly spin towards Rika and rush at her. I raise my scythe up as I prepare to bring it down onto her tank.

* * *

A/N

Thank you for reading my latest chapter.

And so, I introduce a '98 era character. Rika and the flower tank. Because of the lack of dialogue in some of the earlier games, I don't feel so bad about taking liberties with the character's personality. I still want to introduce these kinds of characters with a personality that realistically fits them and what little dialogue they have. Rika in this case is an arrogant, childish, and short tempered young woman with a nasty tank she's not afraid to use. This will be the first real combat challenge for the current adventuring trio.

Another thing about the '98 era characters, is that I am assuming that the events of those games happened a long time ago. Since this story takes place after the events of Ten Desires, it means a lot of time has passed since then. I will be interpreting '98 characters as stronger enemies or allies in this story as compared to their game appearances due to having more experience now. Whereas the young Rika and her old flower tank were only a stage one boss, the older Rika and her new and improved tank are probably a bit tougher than the run of the mill boss.

Anyways, that's just my thoughts on that.

Thank you again for reading. I hope to have the next chapter ready soon.


	34. Rolling Thunder

It's a suicidal maneuver, now that I think about it…

Charging headfirst at the barrel of tank cannon armed only with a blade. Granted, it's a magically summoned scythe and I'm not an ordinary human anymore, but I'm still running right into the pointed gun of my enemy.

Yet I have no other choice. Of all of my weapons, none of them have the power to break up metal armor, save for the scythe… maybe. I'm assuming the weight will be sufficient for this, but I don't know.

So, I run towards Rika's tank.

Naturally, she retaliates.

"Gotcha! You're dead!" Rika declares.

_And… now!_

In an attempt to anticipate her shot, I take a risky move and throw myself straight down. I slide forward just a bit, closing the last bit of distance and going under the barrel of her tank's cannon.

Right at that same time she fires. I anticipated correctly, but I still suffer for it.

There is a deafening boom as the tank's cannon fires directly over my head. My ears start to ring, and my vision blurs. The force of the shot is tremendous. My whole body aches and my head spins.

_Gah! Ugh. Ouch…_

I lay on the cold grass for a moment before coming to my senses and getting back up. As I do, I hear another loud booming noise. Not as loud though.

_Huh? Another gun? Wait… the machinegun! Cirno!_

I take a quick look around to see what is going on. I find Cirno in frantic flight as the secondary turret chases her with bursts of machinegun fire. The machinegun fires piercing bullets made of magic in incredibly high rapid fire. Cirno is avoiding it, but only barely.

"Knight! Help! It's too fast!" Cirno cries as she circles around the tank trying to avoid getting torn apart by the gunfire.

Letty is casting snow danmaku onto the tank again, but the thick armor resists it. Cirno is focused on running and can't fight back. I don't even know if I can damage this thing yet. Rika is already beating the three of us, and we haven't even been going for a minute yet.

_Damn it! I have to do something!_

I don't know anything about the weakness of tanks, but I'm at the side of the tank under the barrel. I have a clean shot at this tread. Maybe some distracting damage can help.

I quickly swing Nightmare into an armored gear on the tread. The blade does not pierce, but it leaves a thick dent in the armor plate.

_Shit. Barely a scratch! I need more! Come on!_

I keep swinging at the same tread. I slash and dent the gears, but the damage is all negligible to the armored behemoth.

After a moment, Rika notices me. "Hey hey hey! Stop that!"

The tank moves forward and away from me. In combat mode, the tank is surprisingly quick; quicker than me at a good jogging pace. I'm caught off guard in the middle of one of my swings, and the tank moves out of reach.

The machine gun suddenly stops. The main barrel turns just a bit and lines up a shot on Cirno right as she passes in front of it.

The tank fires again right at Cirno. I see a flash of light followed by several streaks of smoke as the shot bursts into several smaller ones. A scattershot round.

Cirno… is gone.

"Ha! Take that you little pest!" Rika says afterwards.

_No… _"Cirno? Cirno where are you?"

I don't see the fairy anywhere. But after a moment, I find Cirno again. She's been blown all the way back to the river by the powerful shot, and is headed this way again. She doesn't look hurt. It looks like her barrier held up.

_Oh, thank you! _"Cirno, are you hurt?"

She does not answer. Instead, she gives me a warning. "Knight! Look out!"

I look over at the tank. The barrel is pointed opposite to me, but the secondary guns aren't.

**Run, now!**

Without even a thought, I turn and break off into a sprint. The machinegun does not fire, but the next to it cannon does. The cannon fires a short laser beam at the ground where I was. A shockwave of fire erupts behind me. Had I been any slower, I would have been incinerated.

"Grrr… why can't any of you hold still?" Rika growls as she moves the secondary guns after me.

_Ahhh! Run run RUN!_

I sprint as hard as I can, escaping another laser blast. This tank is going to kill me at this rate.

"Help me! I can't get away!" I shout out as another blast of fire barely misses me.

Thankfully, help does come. A pair of female arms wraps around my stomach from behind.

"Up we go." Letty says from behind.

With a bit of effort, Letty picks me up off the ground and carries me into the air.

"Wha? Hey! That's not fair!" Rika cries out as the secondary turret reaches the top of its vertical axis and loses track of us.

"Are you hurt?" Letty calmly asks. "Where do you want me to put you?"

_This is a little weird. I'm being carried in the air by this girl. I'm not sure if I want to fly around like this… but now is the chance to land a surprise hit from above. _

"Over the tank. Drop me." I reply

"Drop you? From up here? Ok then… Good luck. I'll support from up here. If you need a lift, let me know." She says.

We move up a little higher as she positions me over the tank. Then she lets go. I plummet straight down right over the top of the tank. Below me, I see the machinegun hazing Cirno and preventing her from fighting back.

_That gun has to go, and now's my chance. I hope this works!_

Nightmare still in my hands, I charge up my attack as I fall right over the middle of the tank. The turret as my target, I aim my blade right at it.

I land with a hard metallic thud while simultaneously dragging my blade on the machinegun part of the secondary guns. My slice cuts the metal, and the energy blade deepens the cute; both backed by the full force of gravity.

Yet… it does not do much damage. The cut is noticeable, but the damage is not severe.

_What? It didn't work!_

Rika laughs. "There you are! Nice try with the falling thing, but I'm armored through and through. Now… off!"

The loud booming of the machinegun stops for a second, followed by a bright flash of light from the tank itself. The whole tank erupts with energy, and I am cast into the air and off the tank by a blast of energy.

The grass muffles my crash as I hit the ground. I quickly get back up and face the tank again, which is already pointing the main cannon at me once more.

_Fuck!_

I throw myself to the side, avoiding another armor piercing shot from the tank… barely.

I turn back towards it and rush at the tank once again, ready to tear into it again with my scythe.

"Not this time Knight!" Rika shouts as she throws the tank in reverse.

The tank turns away and drives full speed away from me. The barrel stays pointed at me as it loads another tank round.

I sprint full speed towards the tank, but I won't reach it before it gets another shot off, and I can't dodge the shot and run after it at the same time.

**Use the girl.**

_Right. _"Letty? You up there? Give me a quick lift!"

Letty grabs me right away. "I'm right here. I thought you might need me again. Just don't get in the habit of asking for this. You're heavy!"

Letty quickly flies towards the tank and throws me at it. I fall towards the tank and land just in front of it.

Rika is ready for me this time. "I said… NO!"

There is another flash of light, and I am thrown away from the tank once more as it erupts with energy. I slide backwards and tumble to the ground.

_Ugh… damn it all! What is that? Some kind of force field?_

The tank stops. Rika, as if reading my mind, answers for me. "How do you like my special impact armor function? Oh, and did I fail to mention that I have an element resistance system that protects me from heat or cold? Confused? Angry? Scared? You should be! Hahaha! Oh, the wonders you can do when your engine runs on magic. All of your attacks are useless! You've already lost Knight! Now it's time to seal the deal. Take THIS!"

Something opens up behind the tank. Two panels open up to reveal a pair of cannons. Both cannons fire three times, sending six whistling projectiles into the air.

_Missiles? Oh that is not good!_

Three missiles close in on Cirno. Cirno, who has been struggling with machinegun this whole time, is now flying even faster to avoid the missies as they slowly close in on her.

Letty receives two of them. Not being as fast as Cirno, she relies on last second dodges to avoid the two missiles. But the guided missiles are extremely agile, and simply circle back towards her.

And one missile spins around in the air once before falling towards me.

_Ah! It's locked onto me? What do I do? Um… shoot it? That works in movies, but here? Argh, no time to argue. Got to do something or I'm going to get blown up!_

I send Nightmare away and summon Shredder. I fire a rapid fire burst at the missile, hoping to stop it.

It does not stop. I can't damage it with these weak shots.

**Run you fool!**

I lower myself and wind up a leap that will send me out of the way, but I am too late. I jump straight sideways, but the explosion is too great to escape. The force from the explosion sends me tumbling into the ground; burned and battered.

My ears ring again as I try to get back up. It was only a graze at the range I was hit, but it still feels like every fiber in my being was just hit with a hammer. Explosions… are very painful.

I stand up again just in time to see Letty fall and crash into the ground. I glance up and see two clouds of smoke where the missiles detonated. I look over to the tank, and find no Cirno there. Instead, she is already on the ground too; stuck down from being too tired to evade any more.

_Damn it. They've both been hit. I hope they're ok…_

Rika turns her tank around towards me and drives this way, passing both my collapsed allies. "How was that? Close range guided missiles enough for you? I was even correct in calculating the number of missiles for each target. Now do you see what I can do? You may as well just lie down and die now Knight."

**She underestimates you. Use your powers now. Show this girl what you are capable of. Adapt to this situation and crush her.**

_My powers? The ability to use dark magic and the ability to create weapons from my mind. I can't control them completely, but when I do, I can create something to give me an advantage. What can I use against a tank? Her armor protects her against magic, so I need to break that armor first…_

I focus on quickly drawing out the design for a weapon that may help me turn this around. Having not done this for a few weeks, it feels foreign to me again, but I make it work and finish the concept. I don't know exactly what I will get, but as long as the concept makes sense, then it has to work.

The finished weapon appears in my mind. _Alright. There it is. Here we go!_

I summon my new weapon to see how it turned out. It's not as large as my flamethrower weapon, Chaos, but it's much larger than any of my two pistol weapons. Held with both hands, this heavy gun is about two feet long, and mimics the style of the other weapons by being crimson in color looking very high-tech. Attached to the lower part of the large barrel is a cylinder for the ammo. It slides open to reveal four round empty slots.

"Huh? What are you doing?" Rika asks.

_Hurry… hurry…_

She could decide to blow me up at any second, and my allies aren't up yet. I waste no time and quickly reload the weapon.

Whereas my other weapons are reloaded with a single stick or block of bullet energy, this one is different. I summon the shots one by one for a total of four times and put each one into a slot in the gun. The four shots, made from the same flaming blue energy as before, are about the size and shape of a large egg. I don't know what kind of ammo that is supposed to be.

_Let's see how this works. Time to test this out._

I slide the ammo chamber closed and quickly fire it straight at Rika. The gun makes a strange noise between a regular gunshot and a cough-like noise. One of the roundish projectiles soars through the air towards Rika and lands on her flower tank.

Then, an explosion. A plume of violent blue fire erupts from the orb like a…

_Grenade? A grenade launcher. Holy crap. Right! This will help even the odds out._

After I release the trigger, the cylinder rotates and chambers the next shot. I fire again at Rika.

"Whoa! Whoawhoawhoa! Stop that! I'm not ready yet!" Rika cries out as another grenade shot carves out another small crater in her tank's front armor. It takes a lot of energy for me to make explosive shots, but they are certainly working.

"Freeze Sign: Minus K!"

An angry Cirno suddenly throws herself back into the fray along with a spell card. I hadn't even noticed her getting up, but she seems ok. Cirno proceeds to throw orbs of intense ice energy that violently shatter on Rika's tank. They orbs literally explode into ice, generating small fractures on the armor of the tank in the process.

Rika's tank emits a bit of static. "Gah? Frontal hull damage at thirty percent? I don't believe… how can… grrr… why you little! You think you're tough? I'll show you tough! I'll blow you all to pieces!"

_Uh oh. Look out!_

I run to the side to escape the aim of her tank. Unfortunately, it does no good.

The tank fires, and immediately there is a massive explosion behind me caused by the explosive round. An intense wave of fire hits me and knocks me down. For the third time, my ears ring as all earthly sense is knocked from my body.

Arcane's voice is still clear in my head. **Servant? Good, you are alive. The attack only scratched you. Stand and return to combat.**

_Ugh… ouch._

I get up. The tank is still aimed at me, and Cirno is falling under heavy fire again, preventing her from using her spell card. Letty is in the air again trying to stop it, but she isn't strong enough to deal damage. It's square one again.

Only this time, I have heavy firepower in my hands.

I fire the grenade launcher twice more. Both shots aimed at the secondary turret. The exposed guns are easy open targets. They hold out against the first shot, but the second splits the machinegun in half and throws off the laser completely. The secondary turret makes a metallic rattling noise before going still.

"What? Secondary guns offline? No way!" Rika screams in frustration.

"Take that!" I victoriously shout.

Cirno waves at me before going back to using her spell card to its fullest. "Thanks! I was getting tired trying to dodge. Guns are annoying!"

I smile a bit. "Sure. You ok up there?"

Letty answers. "We're both ok. Now look out."

The tank cannon reorients on me. I leap straight sideways in an attempt to escape. Another massive blast erupts behind me as I do. I get out of range of the blast itself, but the force of it still hits me hard. I lose balance and fall over.

I quickly get back up. The tank is already about to shoot again.

"Hyaaa!"

Cirno comes flying around in front of the tank. Icy explosions splint and chip the armor as Cirno flies over it.

"Ugh! Buzz off pest!" Rika shouts as she rotates the turret towards Cirno.

The slower turret can't keep up with the fairy as she flies around her, and Rika quickly gives up.

Rika growls in frustration. "Come on, hold still. Grrr… that's it! I'll destroy all of you right now!"

The missile launchers open again, and she fires more missiles into the air. Three for Cirno and three for Letty. She's trying to keep my allies tied up so she can focus on me.

This time, it does not work. Cirno's spell card shots are more powerful than before. The explosive ice hits the missiles with such a force that they detonate instantly.

Letty is still vulnerable though.

"Cirno! Help Letty!" I call up to her.

"Yes! Give me a hand!" Letty calls to her as she barely dodges a missile.

Cirno quickly spins towards her and fires a volley of ice danmaku towards her. Letty uses her power over cold to bend the shots around her. Surrounded by Cirno's ice danmaku, it only takes a second before the missiles blindly fly into them and detonate.

Rika growls in anger. "Grrr! That's it! I hope you're all ready to die now! Here I come! Overdrive the cannon! Divert all power to the main gun!"

**The fool does not even realize she is still talking. She reveals her plan to you.**

_Right… I don't think it's going to make a difference though…_

The tank cackles with energy. Currents of magic run along the length of the tank's cannon as it powers up.

With an unprecedented speed, she turns the turret onto Cirno and fires an armor piercing round. Cirno doesn't even have time to react to the sudden instantaneous movement of the tank.

There is a flash from the tank as it fires, and then a flash from Cirno as her spell card is destroyed. Cirno is thrown backwards and crashes to the ground once again

Rika then turns to Letty. "You next snow lady!"

It takes less than a second for the tank to instantly spin around and fire a scattershot round at Letty. She is unable to dodge the massive wave of bullets fired at her, and she takes a hard hit. She spirals to the ground and crashes before becoming still.

"Now die!" Rika screams as the tank turret locks onto me.

I panic and throw myself straight down, letting a shot whirl over me. As I get up, another shot instantly fired at me barely misses. The whirling of air over my head almost stings me.

_Whoa! That things going off like crazy!_

**Her vehicle is weakening. The strain of the magical power is taking its toll on her armor. Attack now, and shatter her defenses.**

Without another thought, I run towards the tank. I duck down and make a desperate leap towards Rika to escape one last explosive shot before closing in on her.

As I approach, I feel an unnatural, yet familiar feeling start to return. It's a feeling I still can't accurately describe. It's as if every horrible misaimed rage-fueled subconscious thought I've ever had is coming out at once. Horrible black words slide off my tongue as these dark instinctive thoughts overwhelm me.

"Scatter the weak. Let all tremble before my iron command. Furious Rebuke!"

A dark green aura swirls around my hands. I ball my hand into a tight fist and slam it straight into the front tank. The magic instantly erupts into an intense wide ranged blast of dense energy. The whole tank skids awkwardly backwards a few inches as the wave of power slams into the tank. The whole machine rattles and creaks as the force weakens the already fractured armor.

Rika's tank emits only static for a moment before I can hear her surprised voice. "What the? What just hit me? Don't tell me that was…"

I don't answer her. The armor is at its limit now. This is my chance, and I take it.

I quickly reload the launcher in my hands and fire off some explosive shots at Rika. The armor, weakened by my spell and Rika's abusive driving, flies off in fragments from each shot. The main body of the turret cracks open. revealing the intricate machinery beneath.

On the corner off to one side, I see a small black box.

_That's got to be the ammunition. I shoot that and she's crippled. Gotcha now. Game over Rika._

I reload a single grenade and fire it right onto the box before Rika can turn. My guess is correct, as the box and the surrounding parts of the tank erupt into flames.

Rika's voice through the tank is obscured with static, but I still here her cry out in anguish. "Wah! Fire in the cannon! Not good! Definitely not good!"

"Nice shot Knight!" Cirno says from nearby.

I look up to see Cirno giving me a thumbs up. I find Letty nearby her higher up. It seems they've finally recovered from Rika's shots. All three of us prepare to go off on Rika's tank.

Rika panics. "Ah! Um. Umm. I-it's not good. I'm done for! Retreat!"

_Ha. Quick to reverse that cocky attitude of yours when you start to lose._

I look over to my allies. "Quick Freeze the treads. Hold her still and I got this."

They both nod and speak at the same time. "Gladly."

Cirno and Letty circle around the tank and spray the treads with magic. The reversing treads slowly grind to a halt as they are gripped by a wintery mix of snow and ice. She's stuck.

I feel a pang of magically induced weakness as I reload the grenade launcher once more, but I resist it and finish reloading. With a clear shot at the now disarmed Rika, I let loose four more explosive shots at her.

Each blast tears out chunks of exposed machinery and cracked armor. Flames seethe out from the damaged areas as the sensitive mechanisms are destroyed. The noise of the engine begins to choke and sputter, and I can see grayish smoke crawling out from the cracks in the tank. One more attack, and this thing is history.

_Come on… one more…_

I struggle to reload the last round in the grenade launcher. I'm out of magic. This has to finish her off, or I will start to hurt myself trying to fight like this.

Thankfully, it is all that is needed. I unleash the last four grenades at the tank, blowing away the entire front part of the tank. The engine dies, and flames erupt all over. Rika can no longer be heard as the radio and the rest of the tank's systems shut off.

Rika is finished. The tank is demolished, and everything goes quiet.

Suddenly, something on the side of the tank opens up. A small hatch flies open right over one of the frozen treads. A puff of black smoke shoots out, immediately followed by Rika.

She coughs and chokes as she crawls out of the tank. Immediately, she slips on the ice on her treads, and slides off the side of her tank and into the grass.

_And here she is. In the flesh._

Rika is a skinny young girl with brown braided hair and brown eyes. She is relatively short, being only a few inches taller than Cirno as she stands up. She is dressed in a dirty white shirt and dirty brown pants; a casual outfit. I immediately suspect her to be human, and when I use my devil eyesight I find that correct when she has no magic on her.

Rika immediately turns right around to face her ruined tank. "My… my… my tank! My beautiful flower tank! No! No no no! Noooooo!"

Rika gives into sobs as she mourns her loss.

I on the other hand, am simply shocked.

_What a fight! I can't believe I did that. It took me all of my energy, but I did it. I destroyed a tank. A full blown war machine, beaten by three people with some magic powers. Talk about crazy! I can't believe we pulled it off._

I take a deep breath… I've won another hard fight. Another victory.

When I look up, I find Letty and Cirno hovering over Rika, who cowers on the ground next to the ruins of her tank.

I walk over to them. My presence adds to Rika's fear. Admittedly, it is not misplaced. I would have no problems about giving this girl a few good smacks right now for nearly blowing me up several times during that fight.

But it's Letty and Cirno I'm more focused on. They were the ones who got shot by the tank. Letty is only a little disheveled from getting knocked down a few times, but Cirno has a few bruises on her chin and arms where she took some up close shots. Her magic protected her, but I can imagine that still hurts. They both look ready to kill Rika.

Rika trembles a little as she pleads for her life. "W-wait! Please, I'm sorry! Don't kill me! I'm only nineteen! I don't want to die yet!"

Letty laughs. "Kill? Who said anything about killing?"

Cirno lets out a sinister laugh as well. I'm not too assured that Rika won't be hurt yet.

Cirno speaks in a fake polite tone. "Yeah little buddy. We're not going to kill ya. In fact, I was gonna give you a present for that _wonderful _fight you gave us."

Letty nods, acting polite as well. "Yes. A present. How about we give you our wonderful gift of winter?"

Letty casts her hand towards Rika, showering her with snow. Rika shivers.

Cirno laughs again. "Hahaha. Yeah. Here, have some of mine too."

Cirno beats her wings rapidly, whipping cold air forward. Rika trembles even more.

Tears start to form up on Rika's eyes. "N-no. Stop. It's cold."

"Yes?" Letty mocks. "Oh but of course. The ruler of winter has plenty to spare."

Cirno joins in on the torment. "Yeah, sure thing buddy. Here, more winter."

They chill Rika even harder. Rika starts to cry as the pain increases, which kicks my guilt up a few notches.

I place a hand on Letty and Cirno. "Alright, enough. We don't want to kill her."

Cirno glances at me as she moves aside. "Oh, you want a turn Knight? Have at her. Be my guest. I'm perfectly fine standing by for this one."

I sigh. "No. I'm not going to do that. Just stop for a bit and let me talk to her."

Cirno pouts a little, but lets it go. Letty also stops, if somewhat reluctantly.

**Of course, you must let your morals restrain you. How typical. One day, this will be your downfall servant.**

Rika looks up at me with teary eyes. "Please. Don't hurt me. I-I'm really sorry."

_This girl is just absolutely pathetic. Her confidence is completely gone. She's not even the same person outside her tank._

I pick her up off the ground and stand her up in front of me. I cross my arms and glared down at her. She avoids my gaze.

"Rika. Listen. I'm just going to say this straight to you. I could kill you for what you did to me and I wouldn't have a single problem with it. What the hell were you thinking?"

She trembles as she speaks. "I wanted… um… revenge for the miko, Reimu, defeating me. I… um… guess I got… um… a little carried away and… you know. I'm sorry."

_Ugh. Her self-esteem is gone too. This girl is nothing outside of her tank. This is just sad to look at. I'm starting to feel bad for her._

I try to stay firm and continue. "Right, I know that. It doesn't change the fact that you tried to kill me."

Rika trembles even harder. "I'm really sorry. What are you going to do?"

"Nothing. Nothing right now…" I calmly reply.

Cirno groans. "Oh come on! Show a little backbone Knight! At least let her have it once!"

I sigh. "Sorry, but not this time. I'm too busy to worry about figuring out how to punish a now harmless human girl. Now Rika, I'm going to let you go this time. But if you _ever _cross me again… I swear it will be the end of you."

She quietly nods. I can't help but feel like I'm a parent talking down a disobedient child. She may be nineteen, but she's far from maturity in my eyes. I really should be a bit more forceful with her.

Yet, I can't give into rage. I can't give any more power to Arcane. I must be calm and resist. She's harmless now. The damage is done, and the fight is over. Nothing left for me to do but give her a slap on the wrist and send her on her way.

I step back. "Good. Now, what are you going to do from here now that your tank is gone?"

She looks up at me with determined eyes. "Build another. Tanks are my life. Maybe revenge is out of the question… but I'll do something great. I'll become famous and respected one day. I just have to keep trying."

I sigh. As soon as she gets on the topic of tanks she forgets everything and is back to her old self.

I remain calm and reply. "Right… you do that. Good luck I guess. Just don't get in my way again!"

"Well, are we done?" Letty asks, sounding disappointed that she could not punish Rika more.

I nod. "Yeah. We're done. Let's get out of here. We still have the whole underground ahead."

The three of us leave Rika behind to deal with the loss of her tank. Rika says nothing, and simply turns to gaze at her tank while flames continue to crawl out the wreckage.

I start leading the three of us back to the cave entrance when Cirno flies around me and speaks in a rush. "That was crazy though! That was some fight! Now I can say I beat a tank. Not even the strongest weapons of the outside can stop me!"

"Just hope they don't have machineguns." I reply, remembering how much trouble Cirno had trying to dodge bullets.

She pouts at my sarcastic remark. "Ugh, don't remind me. That was horrible. I hate guns! I don't know why you would use such a cheap weapon Knight. There's no way to dodge that tiny danmaku!"

I have a mind to tell her of all the times which my firearm weapons were of no use. Magic beats firepower any day.

Letty speaks before I can though. "But that one of Knight's didn't shoot tiny danmaku though. That was like Cirno's Minus K. Very explosive. Very theatrical."

I feel the heavy mechanical weapon lurking in the back of my mind. _That's right. I didn't think I could actually magically summon a grenade launcher. This power of mine is just getting more and more crazy. I didn't name this one yet though. Should I? May as well… Since it was used in Rika's punishment, then Punisher should be fine. Besides, a heavy weapon should have a tough sounding name._

Deciding Punisher as the name for the new weapon, I let the matter die and change the topic.

"You two were impressive too. Cirno really dished out some damage with that spell card, and thanks for picking me up Letty. I very well could have died without the two of you."

Cirno smiles, but Letty looks down a bit.

"Sorry I couldn't be of more use in the fight. I just wasn't' strong enough to do anything against it." Letty sadly replies.

_Hmm. She doesn't have a lot of confidence in her fighting abilities._

Cirno floats over and puts a hand on Letty's shoulder. "Don't worry about that. We'll help toughen you up Letty. Me and Knight can show you how to fight better."

I nod. "Yeah. I don't know how, but I'll help you how I can. It's nothing but caves from here on, so we'll all have to get used to close quarters from this point. It'll be a good opportunity to practice."

She nods. "Thanks."

With that, we all approach the tent in front of the cave. Now that the tank is gone, the smells are lessened. My allies are still a little bothered, but we quickly pass through.

Behind us, the sun rises. But where we're going, it won't matter. We go down from here.

We pass through Rika's abandoned tent and out the back. With the tent and the outside world behind us, we begin the slow descent through the great cave in front of us.

I'm exhausted from two consecutive fights, but we're finally heading to the underground. It's going to get rougher, I'm sure, but I'm not scared. Not after defeating a tank anyways.

My first goal lies ahead. All I have to do is get there now.

_Underground world, here I come._

* * *

_A/N_

_Thank you for reading my latest chapter.  
_

_Unfortunately, this is a hasty upload and I am low on time... So no rambling today. I hope you enjoyed the fight sequence. I put a lot of effort into this one.  
_

_Thank you for reading my story. I hope to have the next chapter ready soon.  
_


	35. Down

It's dark…

Cirno and Letty have no problems seeing of course, but this cave has no light. I can only see what my flashlight allows me to see.

From what I can tell though, this cave is getting smaller. The roof is closing down, and the walls are tightening. My only hope is that we haven't wasted the past fifteen minutes walking through a dead-end cave.

But it seems to go further still, so I intend to follow it to the end and see what happens.

So, the three of us continue. No one is saying much right now, and it is rather quiet, save for the occasional tapping of water droplets.

At least it was up until now.

Out of the darkness ahead echoes a slight drumming sound. Cirno immediately perks up and steps ahead of us.

She peers into the darkness. "Hey, that sounds like…"

A figure approaches. It's a fairy, dressed in red.

_Fairies down here?_

**Fairies are magical phenomenon. They can thrive anywhere there is magic, which is anywhere in Gensokyo.**

The red fairy idly flutters this way. "Oh, hello there."

Cirno waves. "Hey! What's going on? How are ya doing down here?"

The small red fairy shrugs. "Fine I suppose. I'm just here taking a break; listening to the wind."

"What wind?" I ask. I've heard no wind, so this confuses me.

"Can you not hear it, Knight?" Letty asks me in response.

Not wanting to seem like an idiot again, I try and listen very carefully. Ignoring the sounds of the cave, I do hear a blowing sound ahead.

I nod. "You're right. There is a wind. It sounds nice actually."

Letty smiles. "So there must be another cave ahead. Is that right little fairy?"

"Yeah. Keep following this cave and you'll reach a really big and windy cave. If you go against the wind, you'll eventually end up at the bridge to the former capital. Although a lot of side passages lead to other cities, the bridge is the fastest way to the capital of former hell, so it's a good place to start if you're exploring. I've been through all of these caves, so I know my way pretty well." She explains.

I'm really impressed by her detailed directions. "So you're an explorer fairy? I'm impressed. I didn't think I'd meet anyone who knew their way around this place. Thanks for the directions."

"That's really cool! Thanks for the tip." Cirno says with a grin.

"Yeah." The fairy quietly says.

"Let's keep going." Letty urges.

I agree, and we continue onward. The red fairy takes a seat and relaxes, letting herself vanish in the darkness as we leave.

"So Letty." I begin as we walk. "Just why are you going underground with me?"

She looks confused. "Why? Well aren't we traveling companions now?"

"Right, but I thought you had your own goals and all. I mean, I like having someone around, but aren't you out to deliver winter?"

She nods. "I am."

"Yet you're going underground?" I ask again.

"I am."

Now I'm confused. "Letty, there is no winter down here."

She nods again. "Exactly."

No, I'm really confused. "I mean there is no weather. There are no seasons."

"Exactly" She repeats.

_Does this girl even understand what she's saying? I swear Gensokyo women make no sense to me._

She explains further. "I've spent these past few winters content with playing and relaxing, but now that I am the ruler of winter I have a duty to this world. I want to see that everyone enjoys the glorious gifts my winter has to offer this year. Seeing as this is my first year attempting to do such a thing, I want to do something special to make it a grand effort worth remembering. So, I'm going to bring the underworld it's very own little winter this year. It will be a grand celebration. Imagine, winter in hell. It will be unlike anything ever seen before."

Cirno applauds. "Wow. I didn't know you were doing all that. That's so awesome! I'll help you all the way. We'll bring winter to the underground, and all of Gensokyo! This is going to be the best year ever!"

"I just hope everyone else sees it that way." I mutter.

"What was that?" Letty asks.

I shake my head. "Nothing."

I go on to change the topic. "I was wondering… you said… hell? Is that some kind of namesake or… is this really…"

Letty shakes her head. "No, it is not a namesake. I don't know the specifics, but several years ago hell was moved to a deeper level of the underworld to accommodate a growing number of condemned. This place we are going, the former capital of hell, is really the former capital of the burning hells. It is a home to the oni, the banished, and several formerly condemned souls."

_W… whoa…_

I'm really going to hell. I can't believe this. This journey just gets crazier and crazier.

_Well, It's just the former capital right? I mean, that's still pretty big, but at least I'm not going to a world of fire or anything like that. I guess It's just some old rocks now._ I think as I slowly regain my calm.

Letty shrugs off the rest of the matter. "Anyways. You said you were going there for the feather of the Yatagarasu. Do you know where it is?"

I shake my head. "No. I know it's not really a Yatagarasu, but a hell raven girl fused with it. I'll have to ask around when we get there. I guess you two can do your winter thing while I go get information about where to go."

"Sounds like a plan." Cirno says while giving a thumbs up.

"Good. Let's hurry up then." I say while quickening my pace.

I can clearly hear the wind now. The air ahead whistles loudly and echoes off the caves.

"I think this is that windy cave she was talking about." Letty says as she points ahead.

I shine my flashlight where she is pointing and see a small opening at the end of this cave. We walk up to the opening and step through into another massive passage. This cave however, seems to be this size all throughout.

The wind in here isn't forceful, but clearly noticeable. It's no stronger than any normal windy day on the surface.

Cirno and Letty enjoy the breeze though. It has been getting noticeably warmer now that we've left the surface behind. The two girls breathe a deep sigh of relief as the winds bring a cool breeze to them.

"Ah… So refreshing."

"Phew! That feels nice!"

I sigh. "Come on you two. We've got plenty of windy tunnel to go through yet."

With that, I follow the fairy's advice and go against the wind; to the right.

The wind pushes lightly against us as we travel through the great cave. This cave is supposed to be the fastest way to the former capital. Once there, I can begin looking for the feather.

**Be wary. There is someone nearby.**

Arcane's words cause me to panic a bit. I'm still a little tired from my last fight. I wouldn't hold up so well against an opponent now.

"What's up? You ok?" Cirno asks.

I glance around the cave for a moment. "Do you think… er… Did you hear something?"

Letty and Cirno glance around. They don't find anything though.

I however, do find something. On me.

Out of the darkness of the cave above, something falls on me. Half curious and half frightened, I take the thing now on my shoulder and look at it. It's a thin off-white cord, leading all the way back up to the invisible ceiling above me. It's gooey in consistency, and faintly sticky.

_Ugh. What is this?_

Cirno echoes my thoughts. "Eww. What is that sticky stuff on you?"

As if on cue, more stuff lands on me. Several globs of substance rolls down my back and shoulders before landing on the ground, stretching out into strings as they fall. I try prying it off, but realize in horror that the gooey state was only an initial state. The substance is now an extremely sticky and tough cord, binding me firmly to the ground. I try tearing the stuff with my hands, but it only frays into smaller stands of sticky thread.

"Damn it? What is this? Help me out, I'm stuck." I say while struggling against the unknown attacker.

Cirno slowly moves over to me, unsure of how to approach the tangled mess I'm wrapped in.

Then, the imprisoning cords tighten, and begin to pull. Helpless to resist, I rise up into the air.

I flail about, but am unable to escape.

**Use your sword.**

_Right… Ugh, I'm an idiot!_

I summon Fiend and saw away at the cords. The substance is soft, and gives away under the slice of the blade. A second more, and I clear away the cords and free myself.

I stumble off the trap and land back on the ground. Immediately, I spin around and look up as the white cords vanish into the dark.

_What the-_

Right after that, something else falls from above. I step back as a person comes plummeting straight down in front of me.

Stopping right in front of me is a young blonde haired girl with softly glowing brown youkai eyes. Her hair is done up in a fluffy black ribbon, and she wears a deep brown dress with black sleeves that puffs wide around her waist.

Or rather, above her waist? She is hanging upside down from me right now. Around her left leg is some of that sticky cord, apparently attached to the ceiling above. She hangs in front of me, arms crossed and giving a slightly angry glare.

She looks ready to say something, but her expression begins to soften a bit. She hesitates for another moment before finally speaking. "Youkai?"

A simple one word question, but I get her point and answer back. "Yeah. All three of us. Were you the one who tied me up?"

She does not answer. Instead, she reaches for the cord around her leg. She barely plucks the rope and it falls off her. With a single skillful flip she pulls herself right side up and lands in front of us.

She looks at us one last time, as if confirming we are youkai, before looking downward and letting out a long irritated groan. "Oh man… geez. No humans. Ugh, I'm starving!"

Her personality reminds me of Cirno, except she's more girlish than tomboyish in speech. I feel a bit more at ease now, but only a bit.

"How did you think I was human? Isn't it obvious?" _At least that's what I'm told all the time._

She glances at me for a second. "Hm? Oh, yeah. Sorry. You were a guy so I assumed…"

I nod. "Right, that…"

_I'm always being reminded that I'm the exception around here…_

I shrug off the doubting thought and ask another question. "Well, what are you doing down here looking for a human?"

"I'm a human eating youkai. Isn't it obvious?" She says with a bit of irritation.

"Yeah. Kind of is. Knight, are you not thinking things through again?" Cirno adds.

I ignore Cirno's remark and try the same question again. "Not that, I guess I figured you were probably a human eating youkai. I meant what are you doing down here specifically."

Letty replies first. "Knight, this is probably a banished youkai. She probably lives down here."

The girl nods to that. "Well… yeah. Though I can get away with going to the surface every now and then. But even down here I can occasionally get a human. The underworld is a popular place for bold adventurers, rare as they are. Most never get too much further than me… but… "

She sighs again. "Ugh… no humans come by anymore. It's been weeks since a human has come by. I'm getting sooo hungry…"

She casts her gaze downward once more, weak and defeated.

Letty offers a suggestion. "Well, why don't you go to the capital and get something else to eat? It isn't far from here is it?"

She slowly shakes her head no. "Can't. That stupid bridge maiden is having one of her fits again. No one gets past her right now. With me being so weak, I wouldn't stand a chance."

This troubles me. "What do you mean you can't? We're trying to get to the capital, so…"

This girl agrees to explain. "The bridge maiden who oversees the bridge to the capital has the power over jealousy. At the same time, she herself is always jealous. Some idiot drunkard from one of the underground cities said something to make her mad, and now she's lashing out and cursing everyone who tries to cross her bridge. She's pretty strong, so it's not like I can just beat her up."

**The power over emotions is a self-destructive force by nature. The thing that gives you strength also consumes you and who you are. Be thankful that I did not give you such a burden.**

Arcane's comment aside, I can't help but worry I may have to confront this bridge maiden. Still, one more opponent is nothing to what I'm going to be putting myself through later. I'll have to deal with it.

"Well…" I begin as casually as I can. "We'll just have to change her mind about that. Get ready you two, I think we've got a bridge maiden to deal with."

"Alright!" Cirno says to psyche herself up.

Letty does the same, in a quieter manner. "Very well. This bridge maiden should pose no challenge to us."

The new girl is also excited by our resolve. "You'd do that? Awesome! You mind if I follow? If I can get to the former capital, I might be able to st-I mean, get some food."

I consider this for a moment. Two people with me are more than enough. Three would be a real crowd.

The girl pouts when I hesitate. "Oh come on! I won't get in the way of what you're doing. I just want to go to the capital. I'm too weak to fight, so you can do that all you want on your own. Just let me tag along for a bit. Please?"

_Well…_

**Servant, don't.**

_Quiet you. I'm not taking her with me; just a guest for a while. She just happens to need to head in the same direction. No reason to turn her back. We could use some more info on the underground too, and I'm betting this girl is quite a chatterbox._

I agree. "Sure. We'll lead you to the capital if you want. Come along."

She claps her hands together. "Yes! Thank you! My name is Yamame Kurodani by the way. I'm an earth spider with the power over diseases. If you could clear the way to the city than that'd be great."

**Her presence brings a foul disease into the air. Be quick servant, or this girl will plague you.**

I take note of that, but remain calm. "Sure thing Yamame. It's this way right? Let's get going."

We all agree and head down the endless dark of the windswept cave. Cirno is at my side, Letty is right behind me and Yamame behind her. A party of four going to the underground.

_Now… I want to try and get a little info out of her, but first I want to know a little more about the underground._

"So Yamame…" I casually begin. "I'm a new youkai here, a golem if we're introducing species. I'm not familiar with the underground. Anything I should know?"

"Not really. Nothing too different from the surface really. Just be careful around the oni and some of the magicians in the capital. There aren't a lot of nice people down there." She replies.

A vague answer to a vague question. "I see. You seem nice though."

She laughs aloud. "You haven't seen me mad. Humans fear me."

_Hmm…_ "Is that why you were banished?"

I worry she may take it wrong, but she replies calmly. "Yeah… Yeah it was. My power over diseases was considered too strong for the humans. So they asked their gods, curse them, to banish me. I got cast into this cave, where I live today. Still, I get away with a little surface walking every now and then. Just enough to get a meal or cause some mischief. I still do ok."

She then counters with her own question. "So why are you here? Not just any surface dweller wants to goes to the capital of former hell."

Letty responds. "I am on a journey to deliver winter to Gensokyo, and thanks to my companion Knight, I am able to do so early. I, Letty Whiterock, and my dear fairy, Cirno, are going to give the underground its first winter."

_Prideful as always…_

Yamame is won over instantly though. "I love winter! That's awesome you guys!"

"I thought a spider would hate winter." I quietly comment.

"Not me." Yamame replies. "The humans are weaker to illness in the winter. Easy prey all month long. And since everyone stays inside, that means less people watching the cave exits, and that means more surface time. I'll be a happy camper once winter rolls around."

"Well then it's a winter you'll get!" Cirno cheerfully replies.

Curious about her abilities, I ask her about it. "So you're an earth spider? I guess that was… er… web you snagged me with?"

"Mhmm. Yep. My web isn't like ordinary spider web either. I cast web with magic, so I have a lot of control over it. I can make it sticky for traps, silky for fabrics, or tough for building. I spend most of my time doing crafts and stuff. I even get called on by surface dwellers to make things sometimes."

"Cool!" Cirno replies.

"You bet!" Yamame goes on, fueled by Cirno's respect. "With my ability over diseases, I can trap and weaken any opponents easily. Great for keeping the humans from getting away. I like to wrap 'em up all the way to keep them still while I take bites."

Cirno applauds again, but I feel weak in the stomach.

_She mentioned it again… eating humans…_

I risk a question. "Yamame… don't take this the wrong way when I ask this… Why do you eat humans? I mean, what's the appeal? I was a human not too long ago, so I was just wondering…"

Thankfully, she takes the question in good stride. "Oh? A lot of newcomers ask that sometimes, and I have to admit you are a little human like still. If you're really curious about it and not just questioning my habits then…"

She ponders before replying. "I guess I… well…. It's complicated really. I don't look at a human and think 'mmm lunch', but when I'm in, I guess you could say an eating mood, I just… you know. It just happens. I don't know how to describe it. It's not like its particularly tasty or anything, at least in comparison to a cooked meal. I get something more than just food from eating humans though. It's a release. It's like it's who I am… Does that make any sense?"

"Yeah. I think so." _Although that really doesn't make me feel any better._

**Humans are nothing but fodder to youkai. Be it their fears, their emotions, their souls, or their flesh, they are nothing but food. Their only strengths are the ability to destroy, and be destroyed. Nothing more.**

Arcane's musings only make me feel worse about the issue. I quickly change the topic.

"Anyways, something else I want to ask."

"Shoot away. I'll talk all day if you get me to the capital." Yamame replies.

I ask about the feather. "I'm actually here on my own agenda. I need the feather of a certain hell raven. Someone fused with a Yatagarasu. Have you heard of someone like that?"

She shrugs. "Hell raven? Yeah, there are those down here, but I don't know about a Yatagarasu."

_No good. I guess I really will have to ask around later.  
_

"Thanks anyways Yamame."

"Happy to help." She replies.

She may be a poisonous spider youkai, but she has a friendly disposition if she likes you. I find her cheerful attitude likeable, and find myself a little more at ease.

Surrounded by three kind friends, I am in high spirits, even if I'm willingly going to hell. I know these good feelings won't last forever, but I intend to enjoy the moment.

We all continue to make idle conversation as we travel through the breezy cave. I've got a tough fight ahead, so I'm ok taking my time with some casual conversation to recover some more strength I've lost.

While we walk, I continue to think about the inevitable fight ahead.

_Bridge maiden huh? Ha… I've faced gods and oni and won against both. I can do this. I have to. I've come too far to be turned back now. I'll show this bridge maiden what's what._

I finish resolving myself about my decision to confront the jealous bridge maiden and resume conversation.

There is a battle ahead, and many more beyond, but I feel no fear now. I confidently lead the way through the cave towards the bridge to former hell.

* * *

A/N

Thank you for reading my latest chapter.

So we move the story underground. I wanted to introduce Yamame here to show some different perspectives of the world from a dangerous banished youkai. I enjoy taking moments like these to construct small details of this Gensokyo. Yamame is one of my favorite characters in Touhou just for the fact that she is a spider. While touhou isn't exactly clear on which youkai like to eat humans, or how that works, I wanted to add this to Yamame to give her a more monstrous personality that I think makes more sense for an underground youkai.

While this is a darker and somewhat more realistic touhou story (or so I try), I still want to be balanced with how much I use deadly battles and dramatic turns in this story. If I go overkill and make everything dark and edgy than the important aspects might get lost amidst all the other dark aspects in the world. So I set up moments like this, where Knight meets a new friend, to counter those. Although twists and turns will continue to develop as I move the story along, I still want to be a bit more conservative with how much drama I use.

Anyways...

Thank you again for reading my story. I hope to have the next chapter ready soon.


	36. Painted Green

Slowly, over the course of what felt like an hour, the cave reaches a sharp downward incline. The three girls with me have no problems floating down the slope, but it's very steep for me.

In any case. We are going further downward. As we do, I notice the wind begin to die.

"Wind's gone… we must be getting close." I note.

"Yep. Right this way." Yamame says from behind.

Downward we go. There is nothing but darkness ahead. My flashlight is the only thing lighting the way.

Until… I begin to see a bridge.

_Here we are._

Ahead is an extremely wide bridge. It has crimson wooden rails, and is made of very old looking wood boards. Along the rails are dim candle-lit lanterns that illuminate the bridge. It's a rather simple looking bridge overall.

As I get a little closer I can make out a quiet, almost ghostly, current of water below.

_No telling how deep that is. I guess we'll have to cross… but where is the guardian?_

I shine my flashlight around, but see no signs of life.

"Where is she?" Cirno asks.

"She's probably somewhere nearer the other side. It might not look like it, but this is a very long bridge." Yamame explains.

Looking into the distance I see she is right. The lights on the railing go on all the way into the distant darkness until they disappear.

_I guess we just cross and see what happens? Oh man… I hate not having a plan…_

I sigh and turn to the three girls. "Well… Let's get going."

Yamame takes a step back. "Um."

_Right… she doesn't want to fight right now. _"You stay here Yamame. We'll… er… I guess we'll come get you when it's over."

She nods. "Ok. Thank you."

_Down to three again. Well… here we go._

I turn around and lead Cirno and Letty toward the bridge. The boards creak slightly as we all step onto it.

_Hm. No attacks. She must be far off. I guess we just keep going, and if nothing happens we come back for Yamame._

The three of us begin to trek across the bridge.

After a few seconds Cirno begins to talk.

"So Letty, just how are you planning on delivering winter to the underground anyways? I didn't think you had enough magic power to do something like that." Cirno asks.

I find this an odd place to have a conversation, but say nothing about it.

Letty laughs a bit. "Ah, but I have a special trick with me this time. I've been working on a little spell during this trip down here. With this little preparation of mine, I should be able to bring about the required changes for a good winter."

Cirno says nothing. It seems that was all of her curiosity.

Or so I think. She soon comes up with a reply. "Do you think I could do that? That would be cool."

Letty disagrees right away. "Of course not. Cirno, you know fairies can't concentrate their magic together."

_Ouch. That was a little harsh Letty._

Cirno mutters something.

"Hm?" Letty inquires.

Cirno raises her voice. "I said you're stupid! Stupid stupid! Stupid snow youkai and your high 'n mighty attitude. You're just like those goddesses sometimes, you know that?"

_Whoa! What the hell just happened to that conversation?_

Letty scoffs. "At least I'm not some puny fairy."

Cirno stops moving. "Puny? Grrr… why do you have be so… so… proud, Letty? Why do you have to be so… tall and beautiful and… have such pretty snow magic… and be so smart? Why can't I? Oh…"

Letty stops as well. "You little idiot… you don't think that I… want to be… small and cute… and have strong ice magic… and be so carefree like that? I really… can't stand… you."

Something is seriously wrong. This conversation is going off on some bizarre tangent. I turn around.

"Hey, whatever you two are…" I trail off.

I immediately notice something really is wrong. Letty's bluish eyes are now a burning green fire. Cirno's crystal fairy eyes are no longer clear glass orbs, but smoky green emeralds.

The two girls stare deeply into each other. Half angry, half lusting. I don't know what is happening to them.

_What is going on? Green? Dark magic?_

I soon decide connecting my dark magic with the influence the two girls are under to be wrong. My magic doesn't go inside people on random like that, and it's only green colored in its initial state when I cast; and it's a darker green.

_Not my magic. But what?_

I don't have to guess to much longer though. I soon hear a mature sounding, woman's voice.

"I'm surprised. You are unaffected."

**The enemy approaches.**

I instantly whirl back around to see someone heading this way.

She's a young woman, maybe nineteen or eighteen by appearance. She is wearing a decorative dress, made of brown overlaid on purple with white silk crossing the short skirt and chest. Her arms are covered by with light pink armguards, exposing her hands and the sickly neon green magic dripping from them. Behind her messy hair are two fiery green eyes, glaring me down.

I can feel some kind of madness escaping from her eyes. There is something distinctly wrong with this girl. I can't help but feel a bit of terror as she heads this way.

I clear my throat. "You must be the-"

"Parsee is fine." She swiftly replies.

I remain calm and continue. "Parsee then. We're-"

"Get off my bridge. Now."

_Not in a talking mood…_

**Take the initiative. A fight is inevitable.**

_Yeah… no choice… If I don't do something she's going to force me off her bridge._

Without saying another word, I summon Nightmare and rush at her. I power up the scythe and prepare to unleash an energy blade at her. She's only a few seconds run away from me at this range. I hope the deceptively long reaching attack will catch her off guard.

Unfortunately, it doesn't. Parsee seems to expect the attack. She flies straight up over my attack right as I swing at her. As she passes over me, I hear the sound of magic being cast.

_Damn it!_

I throw myself sideways in a blind, but successful dodge. Danmaku pounds the wood bridge next to me as I move.

I quickly rise up with Shredder now summoned in my hand and turn to aim at Parsee.

Yet, I hold fire. Standing right next to Parsee is Cirno and Letty; seemingly possessed by magic. The two winter girls continuously mutter something while Parsee speaks to me. I have no choice but to wait, or risk hitting my friends.

"Such pretty lady friends you have. I'm jealous." Parsee says with no emotion.

She reaches over and pets the side of Cirno's face with her magic infused hand. More of her strange power soaks into Cirno as she does.

"Uwah! So jealous!" Cirno chokes out while she trembles in place.

Then, she goes to Letty and does the same.

"I… I'm so j-jealous… of everything!" Letty stutters.

Parsee speaks idly. "Jealousy… It's all I have. That and this stupid bridge. No one crosses this bridge to see me… I have no friends."

She then turns and shoots a glare at me. "Yet you have friends. You can resist my jealousy. You have the surface. You have… so many… nice things. I'm jealous. So jealous! Jealous!"

_This girl is insane. _I think to myself.

**You will have to confront her on your own. Those two are useless in this state. I can protect your mind from this influence, but you will not be able to use your allies here.**

_Grrr… fine. I guess I'll have to find some way to get Cirno and Letty out of the way so I can focus on Parsee. If I beat her, then maybe that'll break the spell they're under. There is no telling what she's doing with them… but I can't wait around for them to move._

I lower my pistol and summon Fiend. Blade in hand, I advance to the three girls. "Let them go Parsee! Let's just make this between you and me!"

She shakes her head no. "No. Such pretty girls make me jealous too. I'll make them suffer the same fate as me. Soon, you will feel my pain too."

With that, Parsee fires her danmaku at me. With a single wave of her hands, she sends forth a sweeping blast of arrow-like bullets. The blast sends bullets in every direction around her. Cirno and Letty are also in the way, but they successfully move out of the attack.

_Good, they moved. You're mine now!_

I run straight towards Parsee and bring her into sword range. I swing sideways at her, but she expertly ducks under it and retreats back out of range.

_Damn. She's quick. _"Get back here!"

I begin to advance towards her again, but something else happens. A stream of icicles flies down at me, forcing me a step back.

I quickly glance up to see Cirno floating over the bridge… attacking me.

"Cirno! What are you doing?" I angrily shout.

"Knight… I'm jealous." She replies.

Her expression is flat. Her eyes are blinded by jealousy magic. She's out of control now.

_Damn… I'm going to have to fight her too? I can't possibly-_

Before I can even finish, something plows into Cirno and knocks her over. Letty.

The two struggle in the air, clawing and punching each other. The two curse each other as they fight; screaming and shouting about how jealous they are.

**Hmph. Jealousy is such a pointlessly destructive emotion. You'd best hurry servant, or they will destroy each other.**

I waste no time and return focus to Parsee. She out another radial blast of danmaku as I approach again.

The pattern in her attack is predictable though. I easily slip through the wave of magical shots and approach again.

But I soon am stopped by yet another interruption. I feel Letty grab me from behind. There is a faint whirling sound as she gathers an icy wind and starts to freeze me.

"L-Letty. Y-you're going t-t-t-to k-kill me!" I choke out from her freezing grasp.

She holds me still, hugging my sword arm. "Knight. Who do you think you are? Looking at other women like that? Are you trying to make me jealous? What could you possibly see in that blond-haired bridge dweller? Hm?"

_What the? _"Letty, do you even hear what you are saying? You don't feel that way about me at all! Wake up!"

Letty does not. She continues to freeze me. Ice and snow form on the heels of my boots, rooting me to the ground. She intends to freeze me to death.

Parsee approaches me with wicked intent in her eyes. Or rather, approaches Letty. "Such a close relationship you must have… it makes me jealous."

"Wait, you don't believe-"

Suddenly Letty is knocked off. A concentrated blast from Parsee sends Letty flying backwards. Parsee then approaches me and grabs me by the throat. She raises a hand back and slaps me hard across the face, drawing blood as she rakes her long nails across my face and under my eyes. She rapidly slashes at me with her hand, back and forth, in a long and ruthless punishment. More blood continues to seep out from my face and throat as she claws away, knocking me senseless.

She speaks in a low threatening tone as she scratches my face again. "You have nerve bringing your lover across my bridge… Knight."

Unfortunately for her, my sword arm is free from Letty now. I regain a bit of sense as she slows down to talk. Blinded by her own jealous rage, she does not notice my sword coming down on her. I throw my weight into a strong overhand slash that casts her to the ground.

I waste not a second. I quickly twist my leg sideways a bit and slide out of the icy restraint on my foot. I do the same for the other and free myself completely.

Parsee has already gotten up though. She takes a few steps away from me. It's negligible distance for me though. I lower myself and leap forward at her, stabbing forward with my sword.

Parsee anticipates this, and steps aside. I fly just a short distance past her before landing and skidding to a halt. I instantly spin around to attack her again, but am stopped again. Someone grabs me from behind once more.

Not Letty or Cirno though. They are fighting each other again. It's someone else.

I look down to see two brown sleeves wrapping around my chest.

"Y… Yamame? What are you-"

One hand rises up and clamps my mouth shut. In a low whisper, the spider youkai speaks into my ear. "Knight… I'm jealous of you."

_No… no way! She got Yamame to? From all the way over there?_

**It wasn't that far you fool.**

I don't want to argue the exact distance with him and let it go. Somehow, Yamame is here now, also driven mad by Parsee's jealousy. Another part of Parsee's plan to stop us it seems.

Yamame leans into me with all of her weight, knocking the both of us down. Yamame lands on top of me, hands still on my chest. With a burning green twinkle in her eye, she quickly draws magic with her hands across the chest armor on my jacket and around my arms. She weaves her magic into a sticky web that binds me in place. Yamame takes only a few seconds to loosely tie me and my arms to the bridge.

"I want to live on the surface like you do. So how about you stay in the underground and I'll be the surface dweller? No one will know the difference, right? Hehe." She says with a barely suppressed giggle.

_That's just… stupid. Now I know that this jealousy is causing them to make things up. There's no way Yamame is this childish… right?_

**Focus!**

_Right! Ugh… come on, focus! I need a spell._

I open my mouth to recite 'Furious Rebuke', hoping the shockwave spell will break these restraints, but Yamame places a hand over my mouth again. "Ah ah now. This is our little secret!"

Cirno's voice rises up over the sounds of the chaotic fighting. "Hey! There is a lot to like about the underground! So much it makes me jealous! So don't make fun of it Yamame!"

Cirno swoops down and tackles Yamame with her ice magic and the weight of her body. Yamame topples over, separating me from her silencing hand.

"Furious Rebuke!"

The radial shockwave comes from above my chest where my hand is. Raw hammering force rips the web to shreds, and frees me once more.

I quickly get up. It takes me a few seconds to find Parsee, but I soon notice her floating off the side of the bridge evading Letty's danmaku. I summon Deceiver to try and pick her off, but Cirno quickly flies in between me and her and shoots ice orbs at me in her confusion.

I duck sideways and avoid it. I then stand up and take a few steps back. The fight looks like a lightshow as blasts, bolts, and beams fly in all directions.

_This is no good. It's just a massive free for all! I can't get any hits off when I'm constantly getting blindsided. What's more, three of the people fighting here are friends! We're all going to kill ourselves before we can even begin to think about fighting Parsee. Everyone's gone nuts! Oh this is bad bad bad! Fuck!_

**What will you do then?** Arcane quietly inquires.

_I don't even know-_

**You must restore sense to this fight so you can direct your attacks. You must overcome this madness to win.**

I take a deep breath and think quickly. _Right. I need to get everyone back on track. Maybe there is some way to turn this jealousy back on Parsee. Maybe I can… er… hm… well… maybe… try to do something like that? No, that would be suicide. Or would it? I would be taking a bit of risk. Hell, I would be taking a huge risk. This could either be a great success or an idiotic mistake. But…_

I look over and see Cirno land an icicle shot against Letty. Letty's barrier makes a cracking noise as it takes damage.

_I need to stop this right now. Ok… here we go!_

I move from the outermost edge of the fight towards Parsee. She is facing away from me, firing danmaku at the other three from a standing position. She's been dominating the fray this whole time, but now, I'm going to turn that around.

Unarmed, I grab Parsee with both hands on her shoulders and turn her around. Temporarily trapped by my grip, she struggles to break free. I have just a second before she blasts me down.

_Oh… this is going to sound weird. No holding back now! One, two and-_

"Parsee, I love you."

_Three._

I lay my trap. A four word phrase that leaves Parsee wide-eyed and shocked. She's now practically limp in my hands.

She soon hardens again though. Even angrier than before. My act didn't last long.

"You dare make light of those words to me? I'll kill you Knight." She growls.

It is a charade, but I have to keep it going. I notice the fighting has simultaneously stopped. I think I made the right move.

"With…er… with all my heart." I nervously stammer out. Even acting, it's not easy for me to say that to a complete stranger. I couldn't feel more awkward.

Parsee is furious now. She grabs me with both hands on my throat. "Ugh! You've got to be joking! How dare you try me with such an act! That was pathetic! I'm going to gut you and throw your rotting corpse in the river!"

Then, success.

Yamame, Cirno, and Letty all form a line behind Parsee. Blinded by Parsee's own magic, they three girls direct their jealous anger towards Parsee and the fake affection I'm giving her.

Yamame pulls Parsee out of my grasp. I let her go.

Yamame shakes a confused Parsee in her grip. "Hey! What makes you so special? How could Knight possibly like you? It makes me jealous even thinking about it! Ugh!"

Cirno pounces on the bridge maiden from behind. "Knight is such an idiot! How could he even think of saying that to you? It makes me so jealous!"

Letty reaches over the other two and starts choking her. "Gah I'm so jealous! How did this stupid little bridge lurker get confessed to before me! Aaaah! I can't stand it! I'm going to bury you right now!"

Parsee is trapped as my three allies begin to beat her down. They madly kick, stomp, punch, and claw at Parsee in a rage of jealousy. Parsee being powered by jealousy only fuels their anger. Not wanting to break the charade, I stand back and let them have at her.

The three girls push Parsee around and brutally clobber her in rage. She is easily overpowered by the three of them and is unable to escape their blind wrath.

After a few moments, Letty pushes Parsee to the ground. The three of them then take aim and fire burst of danmaku right at her; pummeling her. Taking heavy fire from three opponents, the bridge maiden cries out in pain.

Her own magic has undone her. She is finished.

**Clever. You did more than well in subverting this youkai's possessive magic. It is a shame you did not get to claim any of that suffering for me, but knowing you, you would die before taking action against these 'friends'.**

_Yeah, but I'm sure not wanting to die for anything on purpose. If I've learned anything in Gensokyo, it's that everything has a fix. If I play my cards right, then I can get through anything. And let's not forget i'm not here to bring you suffering. Any fight I don't have is a victory for me and a loss for you.  
_

**Such insolence. You are my servant whether you resist or not. You will understand soon enough.  
**

In a few seconds, her barrier shatters from the intense punishment. At the same time, the jealousy leaves the three girls. Their eyes clear and they wake up. They all stop firing as soon as they see the broken Parsee on the ground before them.

Cirno staggers about a bit, hurting and confused. "Ow. My head. What happened?"

Letty does the same. "Ugh…"

Yamame looks about, more confused than the rest. "What? Why am I on the bridge? Did I fight?"

_Whew… everything is ok._

I take a deep breath and begin explaining. "Sorry I couldn't help you guys any sooner. Parsee here poisoned you with jealousy magic. You all attacked me and each other, and I had to trick you back into fighting Parsee."

They look down at the defeated Parsee. Her dress is ripped and torn, and her entire body is bruised and bloody. She lies on the ground and remains completely silent.

Then, slowly, they begin to remember.

Cirno looks over at Letty. "I… hit… you? Oh geez. That was so uncool of me Letty. I'm sorry. Really sorry. You're my friend; I would never do something like that for real. I didn't mean any of those things. Really really sorry Letty."

"Ah! I got sick with jealousy all the way over there? This bridge maiden is unbelievable! I wasn't even her enemy and she pulled me in! I'm not forgiving you for that Parsee! I hope you fall in the river and drown!" Yamame shouts at the fallen girl, angry and somewhat embarrassed.

It is Letty who is really embarrassed though, so much so she begins to turn red. "Ugh… I made such a fool out of myself. I was like a jealous lovelorn school girl! U-um… Knight? Don't get the wrong idea or anything. I mean I like you as a friend that is, but I don't…"

I laugh a bit. I'm actually gladdened she doesn't feel that way. That would have easily been the most awkward way to confess to someone.

"It's fine. None of you were yourselves. This doesn't say anything about your character. I'm just glad I didn't have to hurt any of you. Now let's just pretend that never happened. " I say to the three in hopes of calming them down.

They agree and calm down a bit.

I step past Parsee. "Well, in the end, you three defeated Parsee. Good work you guys. Sorry you had to get dragged into this Yamame, but you still helped in the end."

She groans. "Yeah, but now that I've used more energy I'm super hungry now! Ugh, can we hurry? I don't want to stick around this bridge any longer. And I need to eeeeeat!"

I nod. "Yeah, we're done."

"Jealous…" Parsee whispers from below.

Surprised, I spin around to see her start to stand up.

She stands in place, swaying somewhat as she speaks "You've made me very jealous today… more than I care for… It's always just more jealousy for me… it's all I have…"

I feel somewhat saddened by her state though; broken and alone. She's jealous for a reason, and I certainly didn't do anything to help.

Arcane reads my thoughts as soon as I start to feel regret. **You cannot do anything to help this soul. You cannot do anything to help this world. You are my servant, and you are only capable of suffering. Leave this fool and depart.**

His harsh words aside, I still feel like I need to apologize. "Sorry for that Parsee. Maybe one day you won't have any more jealousy to worry about. I mean, once you reach the bottom you can only go up, right?"

She scoffs. "Ha. I doubt it. Now get off my bridge and leave me alone."

_She is still unreasonably angry for someone who just got the crap kicked out of her. Still, I should leave her alone. No need to pick on her._

I turn away. "Come on, let's go. I don't think she's going to be bothering anyone any time soon."

Still slightly confused, my allies hesitantly agree. We all walk away from Parsee, who just walks over to the railing and sits against it. She looks much calmer. I would almost say a few hits did her some good.

**Hmm. It is a cruel irony that you said that to her. A bridge maiden is a cursed spirit who eternally waits for a nonexistent lover. She has probably never heard those words before, and probably never will again. I wonder if she will resent you for the insult or thank you for the moment.**

_She seemed pretty touchy about that part. I bet that 'idiot drunkard' who pissed her off in the first place made some pass at her thinking she was just some lonely girl. I hope whoever decides they really do have feelings for her is ready. She certainly would be more than a handful with that jealousy of hers._

**Don't get any funny ideas. You are my servant, body and soul. Love is below you.**

_What the hell are you talking about? I'm not looking for love Arcane! I'm trying to get rid of you! Now can we drop this topic? _I mentally shout.

**…**

Talking about love with a powerful and seemingly omnipotent dark god is one of the weirdest conversations I could possibly have in my life, and I'm not having it.

As we walk, Letty asks a hesitant question. "So… how did you manage to… er… you know… get us to focus again? You kind of skipped around that part, and I can't quite-."

I barely suppress my irritation, and it seeps out in an angry tone. "Look, can we not talk about this? I'm sure really wouldn't care to know Letty."

Cirno laughs a bit. "Hehehe. What? What happened?"

I repeat myself. "You don't want to know."

Yamame jumps in as well. "Well then what was with that thing you said to her before we left? You seemed pretty friendly with her after all that."

I groan. "Damn it you guys, stop asking me. I don't want to think about it."

Cirno laughs again. Yamame giggles as well. At least those two get their spirit back pretty quickly. Letty has at least lightened up a bit, but she's probably going to be stuck with awkward feelings for a while still. I can't blame her really, Parsee made her say some embarrassing things.

But it's all behind us now. With a tired pace, the four of us approach the edge of the bridge.

This part of the underground is immense, as the darkness stretches endlessly in all directions. This must be a huge cave chamber.

Standing out in the darkness are the dim lights of a city. It's just a little longer till we get there.

_I'm almost there…_

**You have done well so far, but your luck will run out down here. Prepare yourself for the worst of trials, servant.**

I silently agree and press onward. Onward to the city. The former capital of hell itself.

* * *

A/N

Thank you again for reading my latest chapter.

I enjoy writing fight scenes focusing around Knight against other touhou characters, and I will have more of these to come, but I didn't want to do one of these with Parsee (yet). Although she is a stage two boss, I wanted her to be more of an obstacle than a real opponent this time. I also wanted to give some of my typical writing tools a break, and have twist on this fight in which Knight has to play a little mind game in order to win. I think this also better contributes my Parsee's character as a person who embodies everything about jealousy; so much so she defeats herself. I will admit, the end result of this effort makes me a little uneasy, but my other risks seem to have been successful, so I'm taking another.

Jealousy is a strange emotion. I've never been really jealous before, but I know someone who was. I know it sounds silly realistically, but jealousy can make people like this. It can make someone who is otherwise pleasant behave harshly to the person or object of their desires. It can make people lie, cheat, or self-destructive. Again, in real life it sounds silly to put it like that, but there are a lot of people who don't take being jealous well. In this crazy fantasy world, Parsee's jealousy is who she is. It is so great it becomes a madness. I wanted to portray some of that in that the jealousy is like a rage that causes the victims to attack each other.

Now, on to the city!

Thank you again for reading my latest chapter. The next will be ready soon.


	37. Former Capital

Finally, after a few more minutes of walking, we reach the city.

I find it surprisingly normal, at least in comparison to what I thought it would be. The houses seem to have an old Japanese theme, and do not seem out of place despite being underground. Buildings stack upon buildings in many places; utilizing the natural bumps and ridges of the cave floor. These crowded streets are lit with brilliant lanterns. It is bright enough to where I feel comfortable not using the flashlight here.

As we slowly walk through the entrance of the town and into the city, I take a look around at the shops and stalls lining this street. Dealers offering all kinds of specialty foods, rare commodities, and exotic collectibles stand along the street and offer their wares to passersby. It's odd overall.

But even stranger are the residents. There are many youkai here, all kinds that I don't know. There are also quite a few oni as well. From tough looking monster ogres like the one I met, to more human-like people. There are also several winged and magically skilled youkai who have the ability to fly easily hovering above the crowded streets. Others use their powers in strange ways to get around, including teleportation and phasing through walls. It's all a busy and chaotic mess.

I chance using my devil's sight here, and am nearly blinded by the sheer amount of magic here. There are a lot of strong and potentially dangerous people here, and I have to wade through it.

**You are very near your objective. But you must find your way.**

_Yeah… I need to find that hell raven._

I spot what looks like a winged girl right away, but she doesn't look any special from the other few walking around this road. I can't go around asking every single important looking person I see or I'll never get anywhere.

_Hmm… I need some kind of information hotspot. Some place I can go to ask for directions or information._

"Well we're here! Thanks for bringing me."

That was Yamame. I turn to face her. She's standing a bit off to the side now, ready to set off down a side road and leave us.

I ask one more question. "Sure. One last thing before you go? Can you tell me where I might find some info? I need to do some searching."

She thinks. "Well… you can always go to a bar. I know the oni can be a little… you know. But they're a friendly people when they have alcohol in them. You can always try asking one of them. Other than that… there's the Palace of Earth Spirits. The palace doesn't usually have visitors, but you can always try. The satori master there is pretty smart I hear."

_Let's try the oni._ "Thanks. I think I'll ask around town first."

"Sure thing. Well, I'm going now so…"

I give a slight smile and wave goodbye. "Alright. Good to have you. Bye then."

Cirno enthusiastically waves. "Bye!"

"Goodbye Yamame." Letty says without a wave.

Yamame waves back as she walks off. "Bye you three! Good luck!"

With that, she leaves and blurs into the distant crowd.

I turn back to Cirno and Letty. "Well. Ready to keep going."

Cirno glances around in awe. "Look at all these buildings though… where do we start?"

Letty is a bit nervous as well. "I must admit, I've never been in a city before. I'm not quite sure what would be the best place for this."

"Well… first things first, if we're going to be splitting up, and I assume we still are, then we need a meeting place. Let's keep going and see if we can find a landmark." I suggest.

They agree with that and we head deeper into the city, with Letty and Cirno sticking close to me to avoid the crowd.

_Well, it was warmer down here a second ago…_ I think with a slight shiver.

Suddenly, someone comes barreling down the street ahead, yelling loudly in warning.

"Coming through!"

Whoever this person is, they seem to be in some kind of rush. More importantly, they seem to be carrying something very heavy.

I quickly step aside and pull the two girls aside with me. We only barely avoid getting crushed by this stranger as they go roaring by. I only caught a faint glimpse of red hair and dark clothes as they pass.

Whoever that was, they are gone now. I notice no one seemed to think that strange, and everyone is already going about their business.

_Hm. Must be a common thing here?_

**It matters not. This city is full of lesser filth that whose suffering is worth little. I have no patience for this place. Hurry forward. There seems to be a place where you can get a navigational foothold here.**

I notice what he is talking about right away. Ahead is a large round plaza. Looking back, I can see the now distant entrance from here, so that should help it stand out location wise. There is also a small clock statue with a ticking clock that say eleven fifteen. This should work as a landmark.

I lead us off to the side of the plaza and set the girls in front of me. "Ok. Let's meet up here. I'm going off to look for some info while you do your winter thing. I don't know how long I'll be, but I'll try and be back here as quick as I can. Don't spend all day out there, keep checking back here very hour or so. Oh, and don't cause trouble either. Got all that? Now… what are you going to do?"

Letty smiles. "Bring winter of course. Cirno, are you ready?"

She eagerly nods. "Sure thing. What do you need me to do?"

She takes Cirno's hand and leads her to the center of the plaza. I stand back and watch.

She walks over to a cloaked man sitting on a bench, drinking from a bottle. I can hear her quietly ask the man of something, which causes him to move away to another bench off to the side.

_Ok… she asked for the bench._

Curiosity soon shifts to nervous anticipation as Letty steps onto and stands tall on the bench. Cirno floats at her side as Letty Whiterock projects her voice in a loud announcement.

"Attention! If I could have all your attention for just a moment!" She asks aloud.

_Oh geez. She's making it an announcement? I think this controlling winter thing has gone to her head. I hope she knows what she's doing._

Many stop at Letty's word. Some ignore, some only glance. She has the majority's attention though.

She goes on, proud and confident. "Dear denizens of former hell. I come with a gift today. I, Letty Whiterock, the new ruler of winter, and my dear assistant Cirno have come to bring our blessings to this fair city. We have come bringing a colder clime and a dazzling snow. We have come with bearing the late year frost and early year freeze. We have come delivering a beauty of change unlike any before! Behold, we have come with winter!"

Letty quickly leans over and whispers to Cirno. Instructions of some sort. Letty then takes a small ice-like ball out of her pocket.

_So she wasn't lying about prepping a little for this. I wonder what that is._

She brings her cold magic into the orb, causing it to mysteriously grow in size. Cirno places her hand on the growing orb, channeling her magic into it as well. The orb rapidly swells as it fills with magic. The shell is clear, revealing a magical blizzard forming within.

_Oh boy… I hope she's not going overboard with this…_ I nervously think as I watch from the side.

The orb swells until it becomes huge; large enough for a person to fit in. They take a second more, powering all of their magic and passion into the ball while everyone watches in awe. Whatever this thing is, it's going to be serious.

Then, with a gentle upward shove, they toss the orb into the air. It floats upward, swaying softly as wind pushes it back and forth. It continues to rise up over the town. The glowing magic within makes it look like a blue sun as it takes position high in the sky.

Then, it erupts.

The orb suddenly shatters in a massive nova. The entire city and everyone in it feels the force it emits as the nova reaches down to the ground. Everything is hit with a sudden burst of frozen air, bringing the temperature down to a bone-chilling freeze. Everyone cries out in surprise at the sudden cold.

But almost immediately afterwards, it lightens up. It stays colder than before though. The temperature seems to have changed permanently.

_Hm?_

I feel a small prick on the back of my neck. I look up and am amazed to see snow. A soft heavenly snow falls down. As I continue to look around, I notice bits of frost start to form up on the corners of buildings. It's winter weather all around.

Everyone else seems impressed to. Most are absolutely amazed. Some of the elderly looking people quietly smile, or look up in silent wonder. Loud stall vendors remain silent and awestruck.

Letty takes in her work for a moment before concluding. "Now, let us all take part in the joy and merriment of winter. I hope you enjoy our gift and have a wonderful time. Dear city of former hell, I thank you for your time."

She finishes with a polite bow; Cirno mimics. The small crowd of onlookers around the plaza give a small applause for her show. I join in with them.

It was a short but grand speech, and the spectacle was unlike anything I've seen. Even though I've gotten used to this world of monsters and madness, I still get impressed by seeing magic at work. More importantly though, she did bring winter. It looks like the snow and cold weather are staying.

_Quite the show Letty. It seems everyone is ok with this after all. Glad it worked out._

**Yes, impressive. But you should go.**

_Right, no time to lose._

Letty and Cirno step off the bench. A few young people come up to greet them and follow them as they begin to tour the city. It looks like those two aren't having any problems making friends.

It looks like they're going to be busy for a while, but I don't want to hold them up either.

With no direction in mind, I leave the plaza and head off down a busy street. The residents I pass look around in awe as the winter continues to set in. Some of the more lightly clad shiver as the temperature drops. Shops also begin to prepare different wares for the coming freeze.

I continue down this street, passing all the various people…

**Where are you going?** Arcane quietly asks.

_I don't know. I don't know what to do honestly. I feel kind of silly just going-_

**Do it servant. Stop wasting time.**

_Alright…_

There is a bar on the street. It looks pretty busy too. Yamame said I could get some information from Oni here, if I talk to the right people that is. I can't keep wasting time, so I try it.

I turn and walk into the bar. Immediately, I am hit with a different sensation than outside. This place is warm, and has a thick smell of foreign booze. This place has a sort of drunken festive feel to it. Around the bar are small booths with various youkai sitting and having a drink; alcohol if the smell of this place means anything. At the main bar are more individuals enjoying various liquors.

I notice there are quite a few oni here. I've learned to distinguish oni by their horns; a unique trait to them. Many of them seem to be enjoying themselves, and are having a good time with each other.

Not sure of whom to approach, I make my way to the main bar and take a seat. _May as well order a drink or something. I wond-_

**Stay away from that poison. **Arcane instantly cuts off with a sharp growl.

_Well I need some conversation opener here! I can't just go around asking questions like some freak. I need to fit in._

The bartender slowly walks over to me. I notice he is an oni; relatively human like, with a sharp horn jutting out just above his right eye.

"What'll it be?" He says in a gruff voice.

I'm not sure how to reply. "I, er, do you know what's good here? I'm a bit new and I don't know."

He chuckles a bit before replying. "New? Sure. Hehehe… I got something for ya."

He swiftly turns to the stock of alcohols behind him and pours a blend of two drinks, expertly calculating the amounts of each. He then turns back around and hands me a dish-like bowl, a sake dish I think, of foamy clear liquid. I have no idea what this is.

He smiles devilishly. "This one's a good one for starters. Real easy. Drink up."

It's a rather large sake dish; it's more of a bowl than a dish. This is an unhealthy amount of alcohol for anyone. I don't know what kind of effect this will have on me either. I've only ever had a few cakes and some tea ever since I got here. No telling what sake will do to me.

But I don't want to disrespect the bartenders work either. I gently hold the dish and tip it to my mouth.

It has a surprisingly light taste, hinting no alcohol. I taste cherry and… vanilla. It is surprisingly good. I take a big gulp from the dish.

Immediately, I begin to feel light. Almost as if I'm dreaming. But Arcane's toxic presence in my mind banishes the feeling right away.

**Pestilence. I struggle to keep your idiot head clear and this is how you honor me? I should have let you suffer its effects. You would have not been standing were it not for me.**

_So the bartender tried to knock me out? Hazing the newbie I guess. Well I guess I'll show him then._

To Arcane's irritation, I take another gulp of the drink. I find it quite tasty actually. The smell of the alcohol starts to overwhelm me as I keep drinking, clinging to my breath and clothes. The bartender raises an eyebrow as I take a fifth drink. He looks rather impressed as I keep gulping down the apparently brutal mix.

Even though Arcane in my mind blocks the effects of alcohol, I still find myself in a better mood.

I set the depleted dish down. Filled with a slight alcohol induced confidence, I speak to the bartender.

"So… pretty busy here isn't it? You seem to run a good business." I casually ask. The place does seem to be doing well.

Still slightly impressed that I'm still conscious, he takes a moment before replying. "Oh this? This a slow day. No fights or parties or nothing. Quiet day I say. Ah, but that snow woman friend of yours not so quiet."

_Hmm. I guess he heard? _"Yeah. A little full of herself sometimes, but a good person all around."

He nods. "Yeah. I'd bet. You did a good thing bringing her and her winter down here. It's been too long since any of us got a decent snow."

_Too long? They've gotten snow before? _"Hmm. How so?"

The bartender takes a glance around the bar to see if anyone needs attention. Nothing is needed of him, so he takes a little time to talk with me.

"Was a time when we had normal weather here. We could get rain and snow all the time. That was when it was just us oni down here. Then we started to get more crowded. Youkai started showing up more and more, and the city started getting bigger."

I'm finding his rugged speech a little hard to follow, but I keep listening.

He sighs, as if remembering some sorrow. "Then those two satori showed up. That pink-headed punk and her sister. They came down from Youkai Mountain when the rest of the satori was banished, but those two were different. They found an old passage into some of hell's ashes in the middle of the city. Found some old thingamajigs from the outside world that got the interest of these two big shots up on the mountain. They went ahead built this thing called a 'nuclear furnace' down under the ashes and fired them up again. Used the power from them to give energy to the city. Powers all sorts of nice things, heats the city, keeps us comfortable. I honestly think it just a bunch of junk, but I kept quiet."

_Nuclear furnace? Really? Another thing from the outside ended up all the way in hell?_

**Interesting, but not significant.  
**

The bartender goes on. "But those satori sisters and their mountain friends couldn't leave well enough alone. See, this hell raven the satori had with her ends up eating the body of this old Yatagarasu god, and turns into a living sun. After that, they kept building more to the furnace, and started using this hell raven's powers to run it better. They kept putting out more power, and started heating up the flames even more. Things keep getting hotter, and the weather goes out of whack and disappears. Not got a drop since."

That clicks a bell. _Bingo. It seems I have a satori to visit. I think Yamame did mention the Palace of Earth Spirits earlier.  
_

**I'm surprised this fiend would know of it. Now, leave.**

The bartender raises an eyebrow at me. "By that look I'm guessing you got to go then. You'll find the satori sisters and her animal friends in the big manor in the center of town. Good luck getting in though. "

I nod. "Sharp eye, and thanks."

He starts to turn away. "Well you thank your friends for bringing us a little cool down from all that crazy heat ok? And don't worry about that tab, anyone that can finish one of my 'Oni Slayer' in one sitting can have it."

_Ah shit, I forgot I couldn't pay! I should thank him. _"Thanks. Thanks again for the info too."

He waves dismissively. "Yeah. Sure. Come back later."

I get up off the bar and turn around.

Immediately bump into something soft.

I look up at the figure towering over me. She's an oni woman; a very tall, but normal looking oni. Her figure is quite feminine and curvy, yet her arms are well defined and strong, hinting at some physical might. Her oni horn juts straight out of her forehead like a spike, and is a shining red color. Her outfit consists of a tight fitting plain white shirt and a strangely semi-transparent skirt that reveals the shadows her body, both emphasizing her womanly figure.

Even stranger, her wrists and ankles are shackled and still have broken chains dangling off them; scars around the shackles indicate some great struggle where they were broken.

She's smiling a vicious smile down on me; a whole two heads above me. Her breath and glassy eyes hint at heavy drinking. I instantly feel some dark intent coming from her.

"Hey there. See you finished down an Oni Slayer. Not bad, not bad." She compliments. "That kind of drink would knock out any casual drinker with just one sip. You're not any ordinary youkai are you? "

I remain calm and assert myself. "I'm busy so if you'll excuse me…"

She puts a hand on my shoulder before I can move. "Hey now, don't go. We just met. You seemed like a pretty cool guy actually. Heavy drinker and strong looking too. If you had a horn I'd even say you're just like an oni! Haha!"

_That's some off the wall logic._

I push her hand aside. "Yeah, sure. Again, I have a lot to do. Top priority stuff. So…"

I begin to walk around her, but she casually steps to the side and blocks me. The mood in the place quiets a bit as people start to stare at us.

She keeps smiling. "It can wait, right? How about a little test first? Let's see how oni like you are. Only the strongest and hardest people get my respect, and I want to make sure I'm not giving it to the wrong person here."

That sounds like a fight if I've heard one. This is not going to end well.

I glance around the room. _Damn it, why isn't anyone saying anything? Are there no laws here?_

**The laws here are different. This is a city of youkai. Power rules. Just like when it was originally hell, the weak suffer at the strong. Now assert yourself with force.**

_Errr…_

**Do it you idiot servant! **Arcane sharply hisses.

I still hesitate. I take a step back from this person, leaning back into the bar. She leans over me, challenging me with her presence.

"You aren't taking no for an answer are you?" I quietly say.

She smiles wider. "Not a chance. So come on, let's see what you got. Or are you full of hot air?"

I give one last warning. "Look… er…"

"Yuugi. Call me Yuugi."

I challenge her stare with a threating gaze. "You're messing with some dark stuff here. I've got some nasty dark magic powers that aren't native to Gensokyo, and I don't have patience for people like you getting in my way. You don't want to mess with me, and I don't want to hurt you. So back off."

She laughs. "Ha. Hahaha! Tough talk. But, you're wrong on one thing. I do want to mess with you. So come on then!"

At that last word, she grabs me with both hands and spins around, throwing me clear out the open door.

I crash hard in the ground outside. "Ugh!"

Everyone outside starts to clear away, some even running off in fear. Yet no one does anything. It looks like this really is how things work. It seems I really do have a fight on my hands now.

Yuugi casually walks up to me, confident that I am no threat. "That's all you got? Get up, let's fight! Show me this dark power you have!"

"Gladly…" I mutter under a breath.

I summon Storm and power up my next attack from my sprawled position on the ground. I get up and instantly unleash the attack; slamming the axe into the ground and unleashing a spear of electricity that snakes towards her.

Then, she does something impossible. Yuugi crouches down and punches the ground. The street in front of her buckles under the force and rises up, forming a lump of rock that halts my attack.

_Whoa…_

As she rises up, she still has a grin on her face. "That's it? Come on, let's see some real power!"

**Punish her.**

_Fine by me. I'll show you some power. I'll show you stopping power!_

I summon Deceiver and reload it. Yuugi does not move, and quickly realizes her mistake at not taking cover. I fire off every one of the twenty shots into her. She recoils back as the bullets pound her, stopping against a magical barrier that has passively formed around her. The powerful impacts still cause her to stagger back into the bar's entrance

_That should teach her._

When my last shot fires and the shooting ends, she brushes herself off, smiling a wide and villainous grin. "That's more like it! Now… mmm… hold on a sec. Wait, there it is."

She walks off to the side a bit, and reaches over to one of the pedestals decorating the sides of the entrance to the bar. On it is a huge sake dish, apparently belonging to her.

She looks back into the bar. "Yo, can I get a drink?"

As if by command, someone tosses her a bottle. It looks like if Yuugi wants a drink, she gets one.

Yuugi empties the contents into her dish and takes a sip. She plans to fight me with a drink in her hand!

**Does this woman mock my power? Crush her for her insolence.**

My pistol clicks shut as I finish reloading. _Not a problem. I'm not getting pushed around by this idiot._

Before I can fire, she lowers herself and kicks the lump in the road she made with a sandaled foot. The rock shatters into debris, all heading my way.

I crouch under the flying rocks and quickly stand back up to aim.

I take aim at her, she does not move. An unnatural magic energy courses through her free hand. She has a strange magic at her command, and the strength of an oni. She's going to put up a serious fight, and I'm going to have to do it alone.

**This is no ordinary opponent. Keep your guard up, and do not underestimate this woman.**

She takes another drink from her dish. "Come on, let's do this!"

"I'll make you regret ever crossing me!" I challenge.

I feel nervous, fighting alone again, but I'm no stranger to combat either. I just hope I can handle her.

With reservations now gone, I prepare to challenge Yuugi in her test of strength. She's no pushover though, and I'm fighting alone again. I'm at a serious disadvantage strength wise too.

_This is going to be… well… I guess I'm already in hell. In hell fighting a devil oni. Haha. Never thought I would get to say that. Now, here we go!_

With nothing left to worry about, I fire another shot at her as I try to bring her down.

* * *

A/N

Thank you again for reading my latest chapter. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it.

The former capital. Wasn't quite sure of how to depict it. I've read that it is like a normal city in a few places, so I kind of went with that. But as a city inhabited by youkai, I wanted to try and give it its own bits of flair with descriptions of the architecture and whatnot. Nothing too special, but I think it helped set the stage a bit.

And I also bring about Yuugi into this story. I know I really wanted to write about her, and what better place to have her meet the protagonist than at an old bar? I wanted to depict her as an aggressive and combative character. Again, just as in the case of Hina, sometimes fights start for little reason or no reason at all. In the game, Yuugi really doesn't attack the player for any reason other than to attack the player. I think I set that personality up pretty well by letting Yuugi have the first punch here; throwing Knight out the bar and into the street.

Anyways, street fighting next! This will be an interesting challenge.

Thank you again for reading my latest chapter. I hope to have the next chapter ready soon.


	38. Beautiful Brawler

The gun in my hand clicks empty once again. I finish firing a full volley of shots into Yuugi, but she doesn't even flinch. She's ready for me this time.

She shrugs off the attack and takes a powerful step forward, crouching down and tearing at the ground with a punch. Her inhumanly powerful attack sends a staggering shockwave through the ground. I hesitantly step back, but fail to avoid the rolling wave of force. Hammering force sends me flying backwards into an extremely narrow alleyway.

I quickly get up, even if it is a painful effort. "Mmph. Damn."

I reload my gun and prepare to fire again. Yuugi enters the narrow alley I'm in as she casually follows me with a sake dish in her hands. The passage behind me goes to an adjacent street, but there is no room for left or right movement here. I have no choice but to face her head-to-head.

Yuugi aims a magic infused palm at me, smiling a wicked drunken smile. I aim my gun to challenge her.

She fires first, sending simple crimson magical energy bolts. I retaliate with my pistol's gunfire. Each of our shots land, as neither of us has room to dodge.

Her shots hit me with a terrible power. The armor on my jacket chips under her attacks. Even with my jacket protecting me, the impacts are still incredibly painful.

Yuugi on the other hand, doesn't even flinch. My attacks barely cause her any pain. Her physical fortitude is immense to not be feeling any of this.

**You are at a disadvantage.**

_Argh… Yeah. This is bad. I can't beat her head on._

I fire one more shot before spinning around and heading for the opening of the street. I feel a little nervous as to how people will react to me dragging a fight through the town, but I have no choice.

Yuugi threatens my escape. "Hey. Where you going? Stop running NOW!"

Yuugi follows the momentum of her words into another pounding shockwave. I can hear the alley behind me fall apart as the force shreds the stonework in the roads and walls. I pour myself into a hard sprint and throw myself around the corner and back into the next street. The shockwave goes roaring past, destroying an unfortunate stall and its vendor as it hits the wall.

**You have her at a chokehold here. Turn around and punish her.**

_Alright. No holding back. Time for some big guns._

I summon Chaos, my flamethrower, and load it quickly. With Yuugi still somewhere in the destroyed alley next to me, I lean around the corner and blindly fire.

Unfortunately for her, that's right as she's about to round the corner. Her face and chest are scorched by magic blue flame at point-blank range.

Yet, she gives no ground. Seconds pass as I empty flames from Chaos onto her, but she does not even move. Eventually, I run out and the stream of fire fizzles away.

Yuugi stands there with a slightly irritated and unamused expression. "Hot…"

I take a step away from her. _Not good._

Before I can retreat, she grabs the barrel of my weapon and pulls me forward with one hand. I stumble towards her and am promptly greeted by a high kick that rattles my skull. Disoriented, I fall to the ground.

I expect some kind of punishment attack from her, now that she has me downed, but it doesn't happen. Instead, Yuugi steps over me and walks to a stall.

"Man, my sake's all burned up now. Anyone got a drink?" She asks.

I tremble a bit as I pull myself up. _Is this… ugh… girl for… hnngh… for real? She's destroying me like it's a game._

**Get up. You must fight. You need to deal with this fiend before you can move on, or she will continue to pursue you.**

I silently agree and stand up all the way. I look over just as Yuugi is handed a drink by a scared and shaky onlooker. She pours the drink back into her dish and takes a sip; sighing in relief.

I summon Fiend, hoping to catch her off guard with a quick melee attack while her back is turned. I rush over to her and raise my sword in preparation to strike.

She is somehow ready for it though. Still holding the empty bottle of alcohol in her fighting hand, she spins around and breaks it over the side of my skull, drawing blood as the glass shatters into pieces. I stumble sideways from the pain.

She follows up on my moment of weakness by grabbing my by the arm and tossing me down the street like a ragdoll. I fly through the air before landing on a step in the road and rolling over my head. I finally stop, disoriented and injured.

I quickly get up though. I stand up and face Yuugi as she slowly begins to walk back over to me.

She takes a quick drink of her dish again before speaking. "Come on. Is this it? You're all underhanded tricks and surprises. You got no guts! People like you are just trash to me."

With that, she takes a crouching step forward and digs at the road with her hands. She tears a rugged chunk of stone. Holding the hunk of rock with impossible ease, she lifts it with one hand and hurls it at me.

I step sideways to avoid the massive attack. I summon Shredder to retaliate, but another projectile, a column torn from a building, forces me into a wide dodge.

As I recover, another piece of scenery thrown at me, a shaky wooden merchant's stall this time.

_How the hell is she-GAH!_

Unable to avoid the structure, I sustain a hard hit. The stall shatters into a thousand wood splinters as it crashes into the ground and right into me. My sense of the world disappears, and everything starts to spin.

_Unngh…_

**Are you alive? Good. Get up.**

Arcane's harsh words in my mind get me to focus again. I take a deep breath on the ground and regain my sense of balance. I look up from the ground to find Yuugi standing right over me.

She crouches over me. "You ok down there? You can't tell me this is all you have after all that tough talkin' you did."

Her cocky and carefree attitude is getting on my nerves. There is nothing I want more right now than to wipe that smug grin off her face.

"Grrr… Furious Rebuke!"

I quickly jump up as the spell activates in my hand. I grab the crouching Yuugi on the way up, adding my rising momentum into the blast. The attack sends Yuugi flying backwards, back up the street.

I immediately follow up with another spell. "Harrowing Blizzard."

My spell is strengthened just slightly by the colder weather. I send out a rolling wave of ice that turns the patches of snow into solid ice. The spell reaches the stunned Yuugi and coats her with ice and frost.

"Ack… C…cold." Yuugi stutters, half frozen to the ground.

_That'll show… you. Ngh._

I feel a slight weakness. I'm not quite low on magic energy yet, but I just spent a huge amount in a very short time.

**Be careful not to expend yourself entirely.**

_Right. I think I can handle a little more shooting or another spell if I have to though. I may need to do so to keep her off balance in order to win. I can't beat her in a straight up fight._

Yuugi slowly gets up. Ice fragments crack and slide down her body as she does. She goes to take a drink from sake dish, only to find it a solid block. She picks the block out and tosses it aside.

With a sigh she calls out for another drink. "Hey, anyone got some sake? Mine froze."

When no one answers her, she simply walks over to a stall vendor on the street and grabs a bottle off it. The vendor appears apathetic about it, and neither retaliates nor objects.

But I don't allow it. I'm tired of this girl treating me like a joke; throwing things and laughing off my attacks. With Shredder still in my hands, I open fire on her. Yuugi remains stoic while I shower her with bullets. Her barrier is reduced further, but she does not flinch. She does not seem to care, as something else seems to grab her attention.

The bottle in her hands is struck by a stray bullet and splits open, showering her with its contents. Yuugi does not look happy about that.

She drops the broken bottle and sighs. She then looks back at me with a serious look in her eyes. "You just can't let me have a drink can you? Just can't have fun can you? Fine. You want to prove yourself? Come on then!"

She relaxes her hand and lets the sake dish fall to the ground.

She turns to me and rubs her hands together, cracking her knuckles very loudly. Magic energy rushes through her arms as she prepares to fight.

**Good. An angered foe makes mistakes. Use this to your advantage.**

My gun is already reloaded, done while she kept talking, and I fire at her. Yuugi shrugs off the pain of the bullets and flies towards me while spraying danmaku over the street.

I take a few steps back to avoid some of the wild shots. I prepare to meet her charge by summoning Nightmare. I hope the extra reach from the scythe will help keep me out of range of her blows.

Yuugi closes in on me, surrounded by a hurricane of danmaku beams. A few of them strike me, but I do my best to ignore the pain and swing at her.

Yuugi effortlessly casts aside the crescent blade with her bare hands and lunges forward with a straight punch. I react the same way and catch her blow with the shaft of my weapon. The force still sends me skidding back a few steps.

Thankfully, this gives me more room to attack. I reach forward with the scythe and strike her on the side of the head. Before she can retaliate, I turn the scythe in my hands and bring it back to the other direction. Left-right-left, I strike her back and forth three more times before she finally retreats a step.

But not for long. She immediately takes a step back forward, slamming her heel into the ground and sending a powerful tremor through the ground under me. I stagger from side to side as the ground quakes. She quickly closes in on my weakness and lands a straight punch right in the chest that sends me flying backwards.

I've spent enough time getting thrown through the air to get the hang of it though. I manage to catch myself as I land so I don't tumble. With a grunt, I balance myself and stand back up.

As I look up, Yuugi has a spell card in her hands.

_Crap. A spell card? I think I've really pissed her off now!_

**Ready yourself.**

I reach into my pocket and take a quick drink of Patchouli's healing potion. I've used this a few times so far for small cuts and scratches. The tank, the bridge, and now here. Just a sip is enough, but I've already depleted it a quarter of the way.

A faint heat and my cuts and bruises are gone. At that moment, Yuugi raises her spell card and unleashes it on me.

"Feat of Strength: Storm on Mount Ooe!"

The magic in the air thickens, indicating the spell card in effect. Yuugi takes a deep breath and slams the ground with a fist. The ground, and what seems like the entire cave, starts to shake.

Then, from somewhere in the darkness above, a stone falls and slams into the ground. Then another, and another. It starts to rain large boulders around me.

**Watch the sky, or you will be crushed.**

_You've got to be kidding! Her danmaku from this card is just dropping a bunch of rocks?_ I mentally shout.

Yuugi stand there, smiling with her arms crossed as I struggle to navigate a growing hail of destruction. Boulders threaten to crush me every second.

So I waste no time in attacking.

I still have Nightmare in my hands, and she's still in range. I narrowly avoid a large boulder as I rush forward and bring my blade against her.

Again, Yuugi just shoves the attack with her palm, stopping it right then and there. I begin to try to attack again, but a rock falls right in between us, landing just right before me. If that had hit me I would have easily died right there.

Yuugi laughs aloud. "Hahaha! Come on. Keep coming at me. I can do this all night."

I concentrate and power up the scythe. I quickly step over the partially buried rock in front of me like a ramp and jump onto Yuugi, swinging my blade straight downward onto her. She raises her hands to catch the attack, but quickly withdraws them as the energy slice generated by the attack scalds her hands.

_Opening! Gotcha!_

I draw the scythe back over my head and bring it back down on her. Her barrier cracks loudly as the tip of the blade threatens to split her and her magic barrier in half.

She shrugs off the pain and stands tall again. "Ha! Nice hit, but weak. Keep trying."

I growl in anger and lunge at her again.

Yuugi quickly jumps backwards away from me. I chase after her, bringing the chaos of the fight back up the street, passing the destroyed alley once again. I'm the one pushing her back now.

"Keep it coming! Show me your real strength!" Yuugi taunts as she brushes off another attack and throws a wild counter punch.

Now completely enraged by Yuugi, I swing my weapon at her once more.

Swinging my scythe from left to right, I continue to force Yuugi into a defensive. Her spell card is slowing her, and unarmed melee reach is vastly inferior to mine. Yet she does not seem to care either way.

"You call that an attack? Keep trying!" She says while pushing back one of my strikes and taking a swipe at me.

_Grr! Come on already! Damn, this girl is tough!_

I keep pressuring her, landing the occasional hit between her blocks. All the while, I keep glancing up to avoid falling stones from her spell card.

Yet her defenses show no sign of giving in. I'm making progress, but I still have a long way to go yet.

_Damn it all! She's just taking the blows like it's nothing!_

**You are too slow. Expedite your assault!**

She's trapped on the defensive now. The demand from her spell card is limiting her movements, and my attacks have her in check. I need a quick decisive move.

I soon find my golden opportunity.

There is a wide wooden awning on one of the buildings ahead along this narrowing street; it is supported by a decorative wood pillar. Just as I notice it, a pair of falling boulders crash on top of it. The intense weight and impact causes the awning to bow precariously. It threatens to collapse on itself like a deathtrap.

_Perfect._

Yuugi blocks another one of my strikes, and I make my move while her attention is focused on Nightmare and not my body. I take a quick step around her and spin to her side. I then tackle her, knocking her off balance towards the damaged overhang.

I can barely move her though. Her strength is immense.

_Damn, what is the girl made of? MOVE!_

I spin my scythe around and jab her with the blunt bottom of the shaft. She sways another few steps away. Then, with the weapon firmly in both hands, I smack her again with the side of the weapon and push her into the pillar, causing it to crack audibly.

_Now for the finishing touch. _"Explosive Anomaly!"

I whip up a magical bomb and hurl not at Yuugi, but above her and onto the pillar. There is a dazzling flash of light, and then a loud snap.

The wood shatters, and the center of the awning caves in. The two boulders roll to where the pillar gave in, and bring their weight and the rest of the awning right onto Yuugi's dazed head.

Yuugi's spell card breaks and she goes silent.

But just when I think I may have beaten her entirely, a plank of wood jumps up into the air. Yuugi casts off a few more debris before emerging from the rubble.

_Oh boy… she's still moving._

Yet, she does not attack.

She looks up at me with a smile.

"Ha! HAHA! WAHAHAHAHA! Oh boy! I like your style. It's been a few years since someone's put me through a building like that." She says, following with another burst of honest laughter.

_She seems… ok with that?_

…

She waltzes over to me. "You know what? You may be a little slippery sometimes, but I think you do ok. You're alright with me. Let's call it a day."

_Wait, that's it? She nearly killed me and now she's just like 'ok, cool'? What the hell!_

She throws an arm over my shoulder as she walks up aside me. "Oh, what's with that face? Come on, lighten up a little! You fight good. You throw a mean slash with that scythe of yours."

I don't know how to feel, but I respond as calmly as I can. "I… er… thanks. I guess you do good yourself."

She laughs aloud again. "Haha! That was nothing. You should see when me and Suika go at it. Half the town's gone when we're done. Hahaha!"

I take a look around. Nearby is an intersection, and at the far end where I got pushed to is another. This entire street is utterly demolished end to end, plus that little in between alleyway we first passed.

I'm tempted to say something, but I notice people are already going about their business. Workers are already mending the stonework, and shoppers simply step around or hover over the wreckage. A few onlookers are even applauding or little skirmish.

I rub my forehead and sigh. "This place… I swear…"

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

Yuugi begins to lead me away. "Hey, how about we have a few drinks to celebrate a fun little match? I know this great-"

I slide out from under her arm. "Look, I need to go. It's… well… um… been fun I guess. I'm a busy man though. I have people waiting on me and a lot to do. Maybe some other time."

Yuugi sighs. "Ah… I figured you'd say that. You should lighten up a bit. But, you gotta do what you gotta do."

**Good. Be done with this idiot.**

I mentally agree.

"Uh… goodbye Yuugi." I say with a weak wave.

"Hey, you never told me your name." Yuugi says with a slight pout.

"Knight. Just Knight." I reply.

She smiles. "Knight eh? Sounds good! I'll remember you. If you're ever around and are lookin' for some fun or want to fight for _real _next time you're here, give me a shout."

_Hopefully not._

I silently wave goodbye again and turn away from her.

Just as I do, Yuugi comes running past me. "Hold on, almost forgot this."

Yuugi runs to the road ahead and picks up her sake dish she dropped earlier. I lies right side up on the dusty road. She then turns back around and heads to the busy intersection behind me.

"Yo! Anyone got some sake?" She calls out to the crowd.

With that, she vanishes.

**I know what you are thinking. Do not try to make sense of the oni. They are lesser fiends without a brain, addicted to fighting and poisonous vice. Still… you seemed to impress her. Perhaps you should call yourself fortunate. A powerful oni is a terrible foe. That wretch you encountered on your arrival is a shadow to what she could withstand.**

_No joke there! I've never seen someone shrug off blows like that! And then she just turns it into a big joke and buddies up to me? Come on! Is there no such thing as common sense in Gensokyo?_

**Focus… you should return. The hour is soon.**

_Ooh, right!_

I head into the intersection and back into the city streets. It takes me a second to regain my sense of direction, but I soon find my way back through the streets to where I started.

_Ah, here we are._

I enter the plaza again. It's still just as busy. This city never seems to sleep.

I don't find my allies right away, but they do.

"Knight! Over here!"

I look around and soon find Cirno and Letty off to the side of the square.

I walk towards them, tired and worn out from a fight. They walk towards me, high spirited from some fun in the city.

Cirno cocks her head to the side a bit. "Knight, you ok? You look a little beat up."

I look down at myself. I'm covered in dust, and my jacket is more damaged then before. I do look worse.

I sigh. "Nothing. Just… getting some info from the oni is all."

"I see… well, I'm happy to say our mission was a wonderful success. Winter is setting in, and the people are loving it." Letty says with cheer.

"Loving us you mean." Cirno corrects. "The people in the city were absolutely in love with us I tell ya! It was great! I felt like a king!"

"Queen." Letty chuckles.

_Glad you two had fun. I almost died again._

I sigh as I resist the urge to say that. "Well, that's good I guess. Now, are you two ready to get on with my part? I know where we need to go next."

They both nod.

"Lead the way Knight." Letty politely says.

"Where to?" Cirno asks.

_Good to have you two with me again. Anything is better than alone with Arcane._

I explain what I've learned about the hell raven I'm looking for and the palace of earth spirits where she supposedly resides.

This rings a bell with Cirno. "Hey, didn't we pass a big mansion-like thing on our tour of the town?"

Letty nods. "Right. I think I know the way. It's this way, I'll lead us there."

_So much for lead the way. Oh well, I'm fine with that. I can take the back seat for a bit while I recover._

**Yes. You need your strength back. The worst is ahead. I imagine you will have to overcome this satori in order to reach the nuclear furnace below.**

_Yeah… probably._

"Come on, hurry!" Cirno calls from ahead.

Cirno and Letty are far ahead of me now. I quicken my pace to catch up to them.

_Well, at least they are having a good time. Now, let's wrap this up down here. I'm done with this underground._

With the Palace of the Earth Spirits ahead, we hurry through the busy capital. My first goal is right ahead, and I'm ready to do whatever it takes to get there.

Anything to get rid of this dark god and foil his plans.

* * *

A/N

Thank you for reading my latest chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.

Ultimately, Yuugi was just joking around with Knight. Even so, I still wanted to try and make this a short and interesting fight through the city. I wanted to emphasize Yuugi's chaotic way of fighting with her destroying the city and throwing things around to attack. Fighting in a busy city with danmaku and superpowers would be absolute chaos, and I tried to imagine that while writing.

Anyways, I don't want to get carried away with this note. I don't have tons of time today.

Update:

I suppose I should update this so I'm not confusing anyone

I'm not continuing this story as of right now. I'm working on another one, trying to get the good ideas from this story and work them into a better story. I will resume this eventually, but not right now.

If you're interested, my story Chaos Fantasy Chronicle can be found on my profile. Thank you again.


End file.
